Project: YrdPod Tiny House
Architects: Kreis Grennan Architecture
Location: Sydney, Australia
Project size: 20 m2
Completion date 2020
Photo Credits: Douglas Frost
What are YrdPods?
It’s a Pod, located in a Yard. The dictionary defines a Pod as: streamlined enclosure, housing, or detachable container of some kind; and Yard as: a piece of enclosed ground adjoining or surrounding a house or other building. The YrdPod tiny homes are designed by award winning architects Kreis Grennan Architecture and crafted as a beautiful, minimal architectural statement providing a flexible living space, sitting comfortably in urban or rural sites.
Why a YrdPod Tiny House?
YrdPods are a type of tiny homes that makes architecture accessible for everyone. They are not the type of tiny houses on wheels, but a permanent structure located in backyards. A YrdPod is a flexible and affordable alternative to conventional building additions, for those who don’t have a big budget but want great architecture. The pods provide flexible spaces, catering for the changing needs of humans throughout life stages. What initially was built as a music studio for the kids becomes a study for parents working from home, later an independent living space for the daughter in university and eventually a secondary dwelling providing additional income in retirement for the home owners.
How are the Pods constructed?
Built on a solid concrete slab, the walls and roof are constructed from engineered panels, finished outside in matt-black corrugated metal sheets and inside in oiled birch plywood with expressed black joints. The roof is of a low profile to avoid dominating the existing space and to blend into established backyards or nature settings. Large floor to ceiling windows enhance the sense of space, allowing natural light and air to flow through the pods. The joinery is designed with intelligent storage options, beautiful detailed in white high-pressure laminate plywood with exposed edges. The bathroom is finished in welcoming, warm yellow with white fixtures and black fittings.
Are the YrdPods sustainable?
The YrdPod tiny houses are designed to use passive cooling and heating, capturing cooling breezes cross ventilating through full height louvred windows and an earth coupled slab with thermal mass for passive heating. Low power LED light fixtures throughout minimise energy consumption, and an optional PV solar panel and battery system make the pod capable to be off-grid. Low embodied energy by using light-weight and local sourced building materials, together with construction with FSC certified plantation timber and plywood sheets ensure an environmentally sensitive approach to construction.
