11m2 HOUSE
Occupying a footprint of only 11 square meters, this micro-house emerged at a moment when the canal's future is being rewritten by a large-scale infrastructure transformation. The design embraces a radical minimalist approach to space, materiality, and structure. Its construction relies on lightweight modular materials. AAC panels form the primary enclosure, reducing structural load, simplifying construction while providing thermal performance suitable for the tropical climate.
Seen from the canal, the house appears almost provisional: a slender white volume inserted among brick walls, corrugated roofs, and improvised structures accumulated over decades. Yet this apparent simplicity conceals a careful negotiation between permanence and impermanence. The architecture acknowledges the temporary nature of its context while offering comfort, and spatial generosity within severe constraints.
The project documents a disappearing urban condition. For generations, settlements along the canal developed through informal adaptation to the canal's edge. As the redevelopment project advances, many of these structures will vanish, replaced by new embankments, infrastructure, and more formal and permanent spaces.
