MINI, NY architects create new living concept

MINI, a British automotive marque owned by BMW, has teamed up with New York architects SO – IL to create a resource-conscious living concept on a minimal footprint. The installation MINI LIVING – Breathe is a forward-thinking interpretation of resource-conscious, shared city living within a compact footprint. Attractive places to live are in increasingly short supply in today’s cities. And when it comes to those living spaces, the responsible use of resources is an issue of gathering urgency. “MINI LIVING – Breathe calls into question conventional living concepts and introduces a creative problem-solving approach for future challenges in urban areas,” explained Esther Bahne, the head of Brand Strategy and Business Innovation at MINI. “The installation shows what happens when we view houses not only as a space in which to live, but as an active part of our environment – one which plays a positive role for the environment and the people living there,” she noted. In keeping with MINI’s adherence to the principles “Creative use of space” and “Minimal footprint”, the installation creates an attractive living area for up to three people on a previously unused 50-sq-m urban plot. A modular metal frame forms the basic structure of MINI LIVING – Breathe, and a flexible, light-permeable outer skin creates the boundary between inside and outside. A total of six potential rooms and a roof garden provide space for personal fulfilment. On the ground floor, a kitchen area acts as a spatial and social interface with the area around the installation – i.e. the outside of the world. It welcomes guests, brings people together and encourages them to engage with one another. Above it are various living areas, spread over three levels in all, which offer an inviting place to both relax and work. Sleeping areas, a potential wet area and the roof garden flesh out the installation’s upper reaches. The individual living areas are separated by light-permeable textile walls. This translucency allows people in other rooms to make out silhouettes and movements, and creates a feeling of connectedness and togetherness. But it also grants residents a sense of privacy, if preferable. MINI LIVING – Breathe: the house as an active ecosystem. However, the installation offers more than an attractive living space: “The approach we took with MINI LIVING – Breathe extends far beyond purely a living concept,” explained Oke Hauser, Creative Lead of MINI LIVING. “We view the installation as an active ecosystem, which makes a positive contribution to the lives and experiences of the people who live there and to the urban microclimate, depicted here by the intelligent use of resources essential to life – i.e. air, water and light,” he stated. The MINI LIVING – Breathe installation enhances the microclimate in urban areas. Its flexible outer skin has a special coating which filters and neutralises the air. Plus, the roof garden uses vigorous oxygen-producing plants to further improve air quality and the urban microclimate. The outer skin is translucent, too. It floods the installation with daylight, ensuring a bright and pleasant atmosphere inside. An intelligent construction on the roof collects rainwater to be used later and taken from a tap, for example. The structure is mobile and adaptable. It is designed to be disassembled and installed at another location. The fabric is interchangeable, and can be replaced with one that performs appropriately to different climates. “MINI LIVING – Breathe brings its residents into direct contact with their environment. By making living an active experience, the installation encourages visitors to confront our tendency to take resources for granted,” remarked Ilias Papageorgiou, Principal at SO – IL. MINI LIVING – Breathe: Salone del Mobile 2017. Visitors to the Salone del Mobile on Via Tortona 32 in Milan, Italy, can experience MINI LIVING – Breathe from April 4 to 9, 2017 inclusive. The fringe programme for the installation has been put together by the brand’s own A/D/O design & research platform. At its home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, A/D/O offers designers, architects, creatives and start-ups a 2,000-square-metre space to dream up innovative products – within an ambitious programme – that responds to the most pressing social issues we face. MINI LIVING is an initiative launched in 2016 as a creative platform for MINI to develop architectural solutions for future urban living spaces. MINI LIVING showcased visionary concepts for shared and collaborative living/lifestyles/working in urban areas through the installations MINI LIVING – Do Disturb (at the Salone del Mobile in Milan) and MINI LIVING – Forests (at the London Design Festival). MINI LIVING – Breathe is the third installation created as part of the initiative. Since its launch in 1959, MINI continues to redefine small car design. A car of substance in abundance, MINI enjoys worldwide popularity among all ages and groups.