From a former laundry, an apartment of 18 square meters was created in Brno

Brno - Architect Adam Rujbr wants to show that it is possible to live even in 18 square meters. He transformed a former laundry and drying room on Běhounská Street in Brno into a modern space that serves as a showroom, experiential accommodation, and occasional space for the owner. According to real estate experts, there is a high demand for small apartments in Brno, but they usually have up to twice the area. Owners often acquire them as investments and rent them out, preferably in new buildings.

The apartment on Běhounská is the third originally non-residential space that Rujbr has similarly adapted. The first was created from a laundry in Lidická Street in Brno, and another from a former stable and beer hall on Jakubská Street in Prague. "The basic vision is to give life to abandoned places. I walk through cities and see how many buildings are empty, how many places are unused," Rujbr said. He decided to use already existing spaces in the Living Showroom project instead of taking up agricultural land.

The minimalist apartment on Běhounská was made possible thanks to an investment from the owner Michal Chládek, who was intrigued by the concept. "I think cities should be densified and use spaces that are lying idle rather than building on green fields," Chládek said.

However, rather than transforming older spaces, experts say that studios are still more often being created in new buildings. "These spaces, previously most commonly referred to as studios, were created mainly due to the failure to meet certain building standards. Today, they arise in the form of so-called accommodation units primarily due to limits in the zoning plan, which requires multifunctional buildings instead of residential buildings in many locations," said František Šudřich, commercial director of the development company Trikaya. According to building regulations, accommodation units are meant for temporary housing.

Small apartments are considered ideal properties for investors by developers. "The returns from their rental are the best in relation to the purchase price, and typically even less affluent buyers can afford them," Šudřich explained. Parents often buy them for their children as starter apartments.

Real estate agencies also confirm the high demand for small apartments. They make up about a third of the demand for housing in new buildings, previously it was a quarter. "Many people have them for renting, so demand is the highest because of that," said Vladimír Veselský, owner of the real estate company Nejlepší bydlení. However, this is about standard areas of around 30 to 35 square meters for a one-room apartment, or even larger spaces.

Living in 18 square meters is considered more of an anomaly by Šudřich. "The technical standard for residential buildings additionally states that if an apartment consists of one room, it must have an area of at least 16 square meters," he noted. In a traditionally designed apartment, only two square meters would remain for a bathroom and toilet. However, architect Rujbr dealt with the limited space by simply separating the bathroom with a sliding wall. His showroom is therefore truly a one-room apartment in the literal sense.