Meet the MINI LIVING Urban Cabin micro-apartment

The famed British car brand has turned its design and style expertise to the world of home and apartment design. The Urban Cabin in Los Angeles, USA is now the third practical living concept developed by MINI LIVING.

The Urban Cabin provides temporary living space with a lot of flexibility, on a surface area of just 15 m2. After London, New York City and now Los Angeles, there are plans to take the project to Beijing and Tokyo later this year.

MINI is taking its first step towards an international network of apartments in which the idea is to make residents feel at home, regardless of the city they live in. "We're working on our own very distinct interpretation of co-living. Our aim is to enable a genuine sense of community, opening doors and creating public space," explains Esther Bahne, Head of Strategy and Innovation MINI. "Our installations and visionary formats seek to explore a whole new range of possibilities in the creative use of space, and we're now putting what we've learned into practice in the form of real-life construction projects. In Shanghai we're currently working on our first hub with more than 50 apartments complete with shared and public space: this is due to open in April next year."

In the cabin's new age space, architect duo FreelandBuck from Los Angeles created a hanging garden along with perforated areas to let in plenty of air and light. The duo also designed two nested cubes that produce an amazing kaleidoscopic visual effect. The outwardly protruding hanging garden combined with this suggestive play of light conveys to visitors the sense of being in the countryside – even though it is in the middle of the city.

So if you’re not ready for a MINI Hatch, Countryman or Clubman, why not give the MINI Living urban cabin a try on for size?

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