Wherever a building is built, it is built on land, and land costs money - and a lot. It was the desire to save space that gave rise, for example, to the famous American skyscrapers. Another way to save money is to make the building unusually narrow.
Not only the high cost of land, but also the population density makes it necessary to build narrow buildings. This problem is very relevant in Japan, China, and in large cities of Europe every square meter counts. But exaggeratedly narrow buildings, brought about by such problems, can become architectural masterpieces.
Warsaw
In the capital of Poland, there is one of the contenders for the honorary title of the narrowest house in the world called Keret House. An unusual building was built in 2010, and the name was given in honor of its first tenant - the Israeli writer E. Keret.
The size of the building really impresses with its diminutiveness. At the widest point, the width does not exceed one and a half meters, and at the narrowest one does not even reach a meter - the minimum width is 90 cm.
Of course, such a house would not be suitable for a large family, but it is not designed for this. There is only one bedroom in the house, and you need to climb into it by stairs. The roof, made of transparent plastic, successfully replaces the window.
Holland and USA
The buildings that line the canals of Amsterdam are far from a Polish architectural masterpiece, but they also do not differ in width. The reasons are economic in nature: the property tax was calculated depending on the area occupied by the house, so the "elongated" building turned out to be more profitable than the one widespread on the ground. One of the main attractions of the Dutch capital - the house on Singel Street, 1, 8 m wide, is considered the record holder among Amsterdam narrow houses.
The largest city in the United States - New York - was founded by Dutch settlers, it was even called, originally, New Amsterdam. The Dutch brought their architectural traditions here, so there are many narrow houses in New York. For example, in Manhattan in 1873 a house less than 3 m wide was built. Despite such a modest size, it once quite successfully housed a shoemaker, a confectionery factory and an art studio. It is currently a three-bathroom, three-bedroom apartment building. The architectural miracle is estimated at $ 3.5 million.
Another narrow American house was built not for economic reasons, but "on a dare." The California resident set out to prove that he could build a house on a plot of 3 by 5 m. And he actually built a three-story two-bedroom house on such a narrow space, called Long Beach.
Japan
The problem of saving space is especially acute in the Japanese capital Tokyo. Here, exaggeratedly narrow buildings can be considered the norm rather than a miracle. The width of these buildings often does not exceed a meter. Locals call them "Godzilla dominoes".
Among these buildings there are true masterpieces - for example, a building under the laconic name "House in Tokyo". If you look at this building from the end, it looks like a space rocket. The similarity is heightened by the beautiful lighting at night.
