The thinnest house in the world

The Keret House in Warsaw, in Poland it is considered the narrowest house in the world, the building measures 152 cm at its widest point and 92 cm at its narrowest part. Keret House was designed by Jakub Szczesny and named after the first tenant of the building, the Israeli filmmaker and writer Etgar Keret. Although Keret House is used as a residence, the house is classified as an “art installation” because it does not meet the country’s building standards.

The Keret house is located in the area of the former Jewish ghetto ‘wedged’ between two existing buildings representing different historical periods of urban history.
The building, which develops a total area of 14 square meters it is complete with everything: kitchenette, study, sleeping area and toilet.

Jakub Szczęsny, the architect who designed the house says he often walked along the narrow passage and was fascinated by the idea of building something there.
The space is compressed between two buildings: a pre-war building and an 11-story post-war condominium. Being a representative of a collective dedicated to experimental architecture, he decided to bridge the gap. Not only did he fill the void by compressing the apartment but he also built a bridge between the past and the present. Israeli writer Etgar Keret was chosen by the architect as the project ambassador and honorary resident, thanks to his Jewish heritage, his Polish roots and his reputation as a short story writer.

The 14-square-meter building is not a unique project in Szczęsny’s portfolio: he loves designing small-scale objects. As for Keret House, he commented:
“The most interesting challenges for an architect are always those that require the combination of many elements with an existing space context or budget. Therefore, reduction is an interesting topic – it refers to completely different forms of ergonomic design and organization than those commonly established. from the design manuals. It’s kind of an equation with many unknowns. “

See photos of the house

Project realised thanks to help of Bureau of Culture of City of Warsaw 
Project is partnered by NationalCulture Center ( NCK ) 
Credit: http://www.szcz.com.pl/