Description
At first glance, it is just a door atop a 1950s residential building in the centre of Rotterdam. Behind it unfolds a complete, self-contained world—compact in size, yet expansive in experience. The Cabanon is a fully equipped 6.89m² apartment—likely the smallest in the world, certainly the smallest with a spa—created by adaptively reusing an unused attic storage space.
The Cabanon is an experiment in voluntary reduction, never understood as austerity, but as an “epicurean” minimalism—a search for modest joy.
The inside dimensions of the Cabanon are H: 3 m, W: 1,97m, L: 3,6m. It has a 6m² window overlooking the city. It is divided into four fixed spaces, rather than relying on temporary partitions, so each space can be fully functional. The spaces are radically different in height, material, and colour: a 3m-high living room with kitchen, a 1.14m-high bedroom with plenty of storage, a toilet with rain shower, and a spa with infrared saunas and a whirlpool bath. Each space is dimensioned according to the height and width required to perform its function, turning the apartment into a temple in the proportions of its owners.
The Cabanon makes clear that different rooms with different sizes and functions might not need the same height.
This principle of precise calibration extends from the body to the scale of everyday objects. The bedroom was designed with a specific mattress in mind; the spa according to the bathtub length; the kitchen based on the mini-fridge depth, in order to avoid the need of customized objects, but rather the other way around: the Cabanon would adapt to standard and affordable products.
The Cabanon takes its name from the eponymous cabin of Le Corbusier at the Côte d'Azur. Like the Le Corbusier cabin, the Cabanon of Rotterdam has been conceived by the same architects who will use it: Beatriz and Bernd. It is 6,89 m², half the size of Le Corbusier’s unit and – unlike his Cabanon – fully autonomous and designed for a couple.
What initially seemed illogical for a space of this size proved essential: vivid colours allow the mini-apartment to “grow” and unfold as a carefully composed, narrative sequence of spaces, almost cinematic in character. Within just 7m², colour creates space where none existed.
The Cabanon unexpectedly challenges conventional ideas of space, functionality, and luxury. Architecture is not measured in square metres, but in the intensity of experience it creates—and in the capacity of colour and materialisation to expand perception and transform even the smallest space into a place of wonder.
Accessibility
Located in the centre of Rotterdam, approximately 15–20 minutes from Rotterdam The Hague Airport, and 45–60 minutes from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and within walking distance of Rotterdam Blaak Station.
Public parking is available in the surrounding area, and a visitor parking permit allows vehicles to park directly in front of the building.
Despite its compact footprint, the apartment offers four visually distinctive spaces, offering an exceptional variety of settings for photography, interviews, editorial shoots and small-scale productions.
Address*
Mariniersweg 227D
3011 NK Rotterdam, The Netherlands
*Access for visitors and productions
For Google Maps navigation, please use Mariniersweg 155, which corresponds to the main building entrance.
Nearest public transport
• Rotterdam Blaak Station (train, metro and tram): approximately 8 minutes’ walk
Travel times
• Rotterdam Centraal Station: approximately 20–25 minutes’ walk or 10 minutes by bicycle, metro, tram or taxi
• Amsterdam Schiphol Airport: approximately 45–60 minutes by train
• The Hague city centre: approximately 25 minutes by train
• Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM): 15–20 minutes by car, 30–40 minutes by public transport
Toegang
• Direct car access via Mariniersweg
• Accessible by train, metro, tram, bicycle and taxi
Parking possibilities
• Multiple parking garages available within a 3–5-minute walk
• Visitor parking permit available
• Vehicles can park directly in front of the building
Direct coordination with the owner / architect author
• The Cabanon is owned by the architect who designed it
• Direct communication and decision-making
• Communication in English, French, and Spanish. Also possible in Dutch, German, and Greek.
• The apartment contains few personal items, which can be easily removed upon request
Possibility of location visit prior to shooting
• Site visit can be arranged upon request
Previous Productions
►Architectural Digest – Small Spaces ep.3 “How an Architect Fit 4 Rooms Into a 74-Square-Foot Rotterdam Studio”, United States, December 2024
►Galileo - “Anders Leben/ Live differently” television feature “Four rooms in seven square meters?”, Germany, November 2025
►Own performance video featuring dancers Guido Dutilh and Boston Gallacher “The Cabanon, Rotterdam by STAR and BOARD : The “Biggest” Smallest Apartment in the World”, The Netherlands
►RTL television feature “Beatriz designed a 7-square-meter apartment”, The Netherlands, June 2024
►Rijnmond television feature “The ‘smallest apartment in the world’ is located in Rotterdam and has a hot tub and a sauna”, The Netherlands, June 2024
Selected Awards & Distinctions
►WINNER in the Architizer A+ Awards, in the “Architecture + Color” category, Architizer, United States, June 2026
►WINNER in the Architectenweb Awards in the “Interior of the Year” category, Architectenweb, The Netherlands, November 2024
►SILVER CUBE WINNER in the 105th edition of ADC Annual Awards in the “Architecture – Craft – Use of Color” category, ADC Art Directors Club Awards – The One Club for Creativity, United States, April 2026
►WINNER of the Public Vote Award in Archello Awards in the “Small Project of the Year” category, Archello, The Netherlands, December 2024
►WINNER of the Reader’s Award in DETAIL Construction Awards in the “Interiors” category, DETAIL, Germany, April 2026
►Longlisted in the DEZEEN Awards in the “Residential interior (small)” category, DEZEEN, United Kingdom, September 2025
►Shortlisted in FRAME Awards in the “Small Apartment” category, FRAME, The Netherlands, October 2025
►WINNER in the MIX Awards in the “Project of the Year - Living Interiors” category, MIX Interiors magazine, United Kingdom, June 2025
►Honourable Mention in the “Best 50 Interior Projects 2025”, Callwey Publishing, Germany, October 2025
►Shortlisted in the MARCH Materials Awards, in the “Adaptive Reuse” category, MARCH Materials, Germany, May 2026 (ongoing)
►SILVER WINNER in the AMA – Architecture Madrid Awards in the “Residential Design” category, CEIDA (International Design Association), Spain, September 2025
►WINNER in the DNA Paris Design Awards in the “Small Scale Project” category, Farmani Group, United States, July 2025
►ELLE Décor Italia “The Most Beautiful Homes of 2024”, Italy, December 2024
Selected Publications
►The New York Times article by Julie Lasky, United States, September 2024
►The Telegraph article by Joe Wright “Inside the tiny homes that could solve Britain’s housing crisis”, United Kingdom, November 2025
►Never Too Small article, Australia, December 2024
►Domus Web article “What is the smallest house in the world?”, Italy, July 2025
►The New York Times feature in ‘10 Tiny Homes’, favourites of Living Small (Julie Lasky and Tim McKeough), United States, September 2025
►El Pais article by Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Spain, October 2024
►AD Architectural Digest Spain article by Marta Sader “What would you do if you had an extra 7 square meters?”, Spain, February 2025
►FRAME article “Turning ‘restriction into invention’, February’s winning project is a masterclass in micro-living”, The Netherlands, December 2025
►Baunetz article, Germany, July 2025
►AV Arquitectura Viva proyectos #129 article, Spain, July 2025
►El Mundo article by Luis Alemany, Spain, May 2024
►deVolkskrant article by Kirsten Hannema, The Netherlands, June 2024
►Abitare issue #641 “Home in One Room”, Italy, January-February 2025
►The TOC article by Thanassis Diamantopoulos “Luxury in just 7sqm”, Greece, December 2025
►Architektura murator article by Anna Żmijewska, Poland, February 2025
►Archisearch article by Melina Arvaniti-Pollatou “Stories of Contemporary Domesticity // The Cabanon of Rotterdam”, Greece, January 2025
►Heraldo de Aragon article, Spain, May 2024
