The kings of compact home design – Chaewon Kim and Beat Schenk of design/build company UNI – created XS House in Cambridge, MA. This compact house is composed of three 16-by-22-ft. boxes, stacked and rotated for a most unusual profile. Finished in marine plywood, this wood clad house design highlights the material’s bold and prominent grain, which makes its way inside onto walls, floors and a central staircase that leads residents through the home’s three levels. Each level of this small house design has its own distinct look and feel, with marble being the materials of choice on the main level, and oak plywood upstairs. Each “box” boasts its own skylight, flooding interiors with natural light while maintaining a sense of privacy in this small urban house. UNI
