Yahoo – AFP, Hui Min NEO, August 7, 2017
Berlin (AFP) - Troubled to see a long queue of asylum seekers shivering for hours on a winter's day outside Berlin's notoriously chaotic registration centre, Van Bo Le-Mentzel decided to take action.
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| The Tiny Houses Project's construction site, with cafe (L) currently being built as well as a small house (R), an experiment in providing housing to people in need (AFP Photo/Adam BERRY) |
Berlin (AFP) - Troubled to see a long queue of asylum seekers shivering for hours on a winter's day outside Berlin's notoriously chaotic registration centre, Van Bo Le-Mentzel decided to take action.
"I
fetched my drill and collected some wood that I found randomly in the streets
and brought it to the line where people were standing there bored to death and
we just started building," the architect told AFP.
The end
products were pint-sized playhouses that children could crawl into for shelter
as well as break up the monotony of the endless wait.
It also
marked the birth of the so-called Tiny House University, a project bringing
together architects, designers and refugees to experiment with innovative ways
to house a population in need.
"We
are trying to create new kinds of housing forms in society in which it's
possible to live and survive without having land or money," said
Le-Mentzel.
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Van
Bo-Mentzel, head of the Tiny House University Project, sits inside a small
house built on the construction site for the project at the Bauhaus Archive
Museum
of Design in Berlin. (AFP Photo/Adam BERRY)
|
The tiny
house trend emerged several years ago, largely in the United States as people
chose to downsize their living space out of environmental or financial
concerns.
In Berlin,
it has been given a twist for contemporary needs.
For a
start, Le-Mentzel's team which includes six refugees, is collaborating with the
Bauhaus Archiv to build 20 tiny houses occupying 10 square metres (100 square
feet) each.
Together,
the houses will form a temporary village on exhibition until March 2018.
Some will
serve as lodging, while others are destined to be a library, cafe, workshop or
community centre.
Each
building is fitted on wheels -- which Le-Mentzel said means they can be parked
on public streets as a form of trailer.
"In
Berlin we have 1.5 million cars registered and they are all standing in the
streets overnight, not in use. Each car is about 10 square metres," noted
Le-Mentzel.
"So
I'm asking what would happen if we just replace these 1.5 million cars with
tiny houses or with mobile playgrounds for kids or with open spaces where
neighbours can cook together, eat together, find company together, where
refugees can create a start-up in the streets -- opening a restaurant, (giving)
a haircut."
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Ali Fadi, a
Kurdish Syrian refugee and construction worker, is hoping his
work on the Tiny
Houses Project will help him get a job in his field (AFP
Photo/Adam BERRY)
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Microcosm
of society
Like
metropolitan cities worldwide, property prices in Berlin have shot up as the
city shed its Cold War divided past to become a tourism and party hotspot, as
well as an investment magnet.
Although
new builds are mushrooming across the capital, refugees and low-income locals
are finding themselves priced out.
Le-Mentzel
views his Tiny100 as a prototype for small apartments which can be let out for
100 euros ($117) a month to low earners.
His
ultimate goal is to fit out a building not only with regular-sized apartments,
but also such compact homes, allowing the "rich and poor, students and
entrepreneurs" to live together.
"It
will be a house that mirrors society," he said, adding that talks are
ongoing with "three or four investors" about making his dream come
true.
"But
we are at the beginning of the process."
Ali Fadi, a
Kurdish refugee from Syria, has not thought that far to having his own tiny
apartment.
The
33-year-old is simply revelling at being able to practise his trade.
Fadi is an
experienced carpenter, but had found himself shut out of the German job market
because he lacked the paper qualifications.
Measuring a
piece of wood before sawing it off for the tiny house that would house a cafe,
Fadi said he hopes that his work in the project would help overcome the
bureaucratic barrier.
"I
hope I can get a job doing this," said Fadi.
 |
Material
cost for the house is expected to run between 12,000 and 15,000 euros
(AFP
Photo/Adam BERRY)
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Party for
13 in 6 sqm
At a
warehouse area in southern Berlin, another member of the team, Noam Goldstein,
is fitting insulation into one of the 20 tiny houses.
His version
of the small home would feature not just the usual trappings of an apartment,
but also include solar panels, a compost toilet and a hydroponics garden.
The
carpenter expects material cost for the house to run between 12,000 and 15,000
euros.
While some
components like windows have to be purchased, Goldstein said much of the wood
used is recycled pallet wood.
"When
you look at the financial aspect, it provides a very cheap way for people to
build their own house," said Goldstein.
Researcher
Amelie Salameh, who was among the initial ones to try out the first of the 20
tiny houses overnight, is a convert.
Measuring
just six square metres, the first tiny house built by Le-Mentzel himself for
the project is a self-contained unit with a living room, kitchen, sleeping
area, toilet and shower.
"The
way it was designed, there were mirrors, a lot of light, I never felt trapped
inside," said Salameh, who lived in the house called Tiny100 for three
weeks.
She even
had two friends sleep over for a night, and once also hosted a visit of 13
people.
"We
had a few beers, it was fun," she said, adding that "you just have to
think about where you're putting your stuff, and to tidy up constantly, because
the place gets full quickly."
