A design by firm Dattner Architects, which is one of the finalists in the city’s ‘micro-apartment’ competition.” (
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(John Halpern/Museum of the City of New York)
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Forget your tiny studio. This is what the city’s smallest apartment may look like.
The city today is announcing the winner of its “micro-apartment” contest, which challenged architects to create affordable homes for single New Yorkers — some as small as 250 square feet.
To give residents an idea of what can fit into such a teeny space, the Museum of the City of New York will showcase a walk-through version of one possible design by architect Amie Gross that meets all codes and regulations.
“It shows people the average size of what a micro-unit would be,” Gross said of the fully furnished, T-shaped unit.
Despite its size, the apartment includes a tub, a pull-down bed in the living room, and a pull-out table and refrigerator in the kitchen.
“We wanted people to visualize how big 325 square feet is,” Gross said. “When they see it, the reality is more clear.”
Gross’ unit also contains a terrace — a perk usually reserved for the priciest apartments.
“It’s one of the ways to make a small space feel big,” Gross said. “You can build a snowman there in winter and sunbathe there in summer. The terrace becomes another room. An outdoor room.”
It also includes an eco-friendly way to “filter air and save on air conditioning and connect the apartment to the green around it,” she said, cutting down on utility bills.
Mayor Bloomberg announced the contest in July, and 33 proposals had been submitted by the September deadline.
Finalists include Dattner Architects and the Durst Organization; the developer Monadnock; Grimshaw Architects; and Jonathan Rose Companies, the firms told The Post.
Dattner’s model calls for 300-square-foot units in a building with a gym, bike storage, rooftop terrace and a cafe on the ground floor, said chief marketing officer Kirsten Sibilia.
The winners of the contest — dubbed adAPT — will develop 50 micro-units in a pilot project on a city-owned site at 335 E. 27th Street in Kips Bay.
Each apartment has to be between 250- and 370-square-feet large.
The cost will be determined by the team that wins — but the city determined that it must be affordable.
Some developers were put off by the bevy of city regulations.
“It’s a wonderful idea,” said Caroline Born, from BD Hotels, “but the city wasn’t sure what they wanted to do, so they heaped on a lot of requirements.”
She added that while she thought that there was a way developers can make a profit on micro-units,“there will have to be a lot of give and take on both sides.”
Additional reporting by David Seifman