Swedish firm Tengbom has designed a ten square-metre wooden house for students.

Linda Camara and Pontus Åqvist of Tengbom architects worked in collaboration with students from Lund University in Sweden to create the living unit, which is meant to be "affordable and sustainable".

"Through an efficient layout and the use of cross-laminated wood as a construction material, the rent is reduced by 50 percent and the ecological impact and carbon footprint is also significantly reduced," said Camara.

Inside the unit there is a small kitchenette with shelving and green storage cupboards, a small bathroom and a loft for sleeping that is accessed via small wooden steps fixed to the wall.

Two window shutters on the lower level can be folded down to use as a dining table and a desk. Under the loft area there is a hammock.

"The main issue was to design really smart units with no unnecessary space," Camara told Dezeen. "Only well-designed space is afforded when designing for small living."

The unit is constructed from cross-laminated wood that was sawn and shaped by timber firm Martinsons and mounted on site by Swedish building firm Ulestedt.

"Since this is a fairly new material on the Swedish market, we wanted to show the qualities, such as the possibilities to make the non-rectangular forms," Camara said. "It is easier to make round corners than sharp 90-degrees."

In 2014, 22 of the student units will be built and ready for students in Sweden to move into.

One of the student micro-homes is currently on display at the Virserum Art Museum as part of the Wood 2013 exhibition, which is open until 8 December 2013.

Other micro-homes featured on Dezeen recently include a cloud-shaped holiday home that sits next to a lake in south-west France and a concept for narrow apartments that fill tiny gaps between existing buildings.

See more micro-houses »
See more student housing »

Photography is by Bertil Hertzberg.

Here's more information from the architects:

Tengbom Architects design a smart student flat

A student flat of only 10 square metres is currently exhibited at the Virserum Art Museum in the county Småland, Sweden.

Tengbom Architects has designed a student flat for students which is affordable, environmental-friendly and smart both in terms of design and choice of materials. The project is a collaboration with wood manufacturer Martinsons and real estate company AF Bostäder.

To meet the needs of students in a sustainable, smart and affordable way was the key questions when Tengbom in collaboration with students at the University of Lund was designing this student flat of 10 square meters. The unit is now displayed in Virserum Art Museum. In 2014, 22 units will be built and ready for students to move into.

To successfully build affordable student housing requires innovative thinking and new solutions. The area in each unit is reduced from current requirement, 25 square meters to 10 square meters through legal consent. This truly compact-living flat still offers a comfortable sleeping-loft, kitchen, bathroom and a small garden with a patio. Through an efficient layout and the use of cross laminated wood as a construction material the rent is reduced by 50 % and the ecological impact and carbon footprints is also significantly reduced.

Energy efficiency is a key issue when designing new buildings. Choosing right material and manufacturing methods is vital to minimise the carbon emission and therefore wood was chosen for its carbon positive qualities, and as a renewable resource it can be sourced locally to minimize transportation. The manufacturer method was chosen because of is flexible production and for it’s assembling technique which can be done on site to reduce construction time.

By exhibiting this well planned and sustainable student flat we want to challenge the conventional views and show new ways of thinking. What is good living? What materials can we use? To meet the future in a sustainable way we must be innovative in all aspects and have the courage to break new ground, says Linda Camara at Tengbom Architects.

Location: Virserums Konsthall Kyrkogatan 34, 570 80 Virserum
Architect: Linda Camara & Pontus Åqvist, Tengbom
Assistent Architect: Lina Rengstedt, Olof Nordenson, Magnus Juhlin