As cities around the world try to house their growing populations as cheaply a possible, designs for so-called micro apartment complexes are springing up in New York, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco. While many of the renderings have areas with what appears to be some wood-like flooring, San Francisco's recently opened SmartSpace apartments on Harriet Street feature bamboo floors by Plyboo, a Frisco-based, FSC-certified maker of bamboo products.
The 295-square-foot apartments can legally house up to two people. By providing solo living options for single professionals, the apartments leave two- or three-bedroom apartments open for families living in the city. The apartments, all individually constructed modules, have nine-foot ceilings; foldaway, multipurpose furniture; and lots of storage to conserve space. The 23-unit building is located near public transit in the fashionable South of Market (SoMa) district, and earned a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
While the goal of many micro projects is to create affordable housing, the rent on a SmartSpace apartment is still between $1,300 and $1,500 a month. Granted, the tiny abodes have some amenities that many other micro and even studio apartments don't-in-unit washers and dryers, dishwashers, high-quality bamboo floors-but some are skeptical. David Campos, who supported a cap on the number of micro apartment buildings allowed in the city, expressed his concerns about the high rent to SF Gate, saying, "It's not a lot of space for $1,500. If 220 square feet is going to rent for $1,500, what does that do for the rest of the places in San Francisco?"
