How we began
When one considers the tiny house concept, a beautifully designed downsized dwelling located in an attractive suburban or rural location often comes to mind. However, driven by the personal desire to downsize our lives, we investigated possibilities for living in tiny houses in an urban environment (specifically our hometown of Basel, Switzerland). At a trade fair we learned that this was not possible for political and planning restrictions. Local politicians discussed this topic on a panel at the fair and it was agreed that a reduction in the living space per inhabitant and thus individual footprint was a desirable and necessary goal.
The challenge posed was, how can tiny houses work in the urban environment, where available space is limited and population density is an important factor? We considered the fact that there was so much under utilised land in so many cities. Could this potential be realised, even temporarily? We envisioned high density, sustainable settlements created from modular units (Kiubs), which would allow flexibility. Flexibility would allow agility – agility allows us to utilise temporarily available urban land to create living, working communities. When the land is no longer available the Kiubs are easily transported and installed at other sites.
KiubX was created to realise this vision. We are a small team of enthusiastic individuals who share common values around sustainability, minimalism, ethics and how the future of urban development could look.
“Digitalisation and globalisation are changing our world more profoundly than all previous revolutions combined. People are increasingly turning away from consumption and work as a determining part of life. They strive for self-fulfilment and meaning, with reduced consumption and footprint. That is why new concepts for our built environment are needed, concepts that serve the needs of this growing number of people.”