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I guess I have a new temporary hobby, designing tiny spaces to live in.
I myself find it hard to believe that someone could live in the area of a parking space. I think part of that is that I visualize "parking" as a (compact) car in a curbside parking space, not a fully demarcated space that can take a full sized van or pickup truck. But anyway, let's do the math.
Small parking spaces are around 12 m2. A shower stall and toilet area each take around 1 m2 or less. A kitchenette area needs 2 m2 or less. That leaves 8 m2 to live in; Caltech freshman singles were 6 m2. A twin mattress is around 2 m2, and with the right furniture you get storage or even a desk under that. (Caltech had a neat bunk bed variant, where the top bunk was a bed and the bottom bunk was a solid piece of wood for a matress-sized desk. And you still get space to put drawers beneath, of course.)
This is hard mode. Standard US parking lot spaces are 15 m2 (8.5x19 ft). Sharing bathrooms helps a bit: 2 2x6 parking spaces could share 2x2 m2 of bathroom, leaving 2x5 m2 of housing on each side. Going to a second story obviously helps immensely.
[Data: US compact parking spaces are 8x16 feet, 11.89 m2. I've been pacing out curbside parking; 2x6 is a common result. Parallel parking spaces are *supposed* to be 2.1-2.4m wide, and 6.1-7.9 m long, for 13-19 m2, though if you don't have paint and parking meters then compact cars jam themselves in more tightly.
I bought measuring tape and deployed it at my current stay. There's actually a bathtub but one could shower in 2.5*2.5 ft2, 0.58 m2. Toilet area needs 2.5 ft width for comfort, 3 feet or so depth so you're not knees against the wall. 4 stovetop burners fit in 2x2 feet, a sink needs less, a large fridge needs a bit more. That's 1.1 m2 total, but counter space is nice.]
I myself find it hard to believe that someone could live in the area of a parking space. I think part of that is that I visualize "parking" as a (compact) car in a curbside parking space, not a fully demarcated space that can take a full sized van or pickup truck. But anyway, let's do the math.
Small parking spaces are around 12 m2. A shower stall and toilet area each take around 1 m2 or less. A kitchenette area needs 2 m2 or less. That leaves 8 m2 to live in; Caltech freshman singles were 6 m2. A twin mattress is around 2 m2, and with the right furniture you get storage or even a desk under that. (Caltech had a neat bunk bed variant, where the top bunk was a bed and the bottom bunk was a solid piece of wood for a matress-sized desk. And you still get space to put drawers beneath, of course.)
This is hard mode. Standard US parking lot spaces are 15 m2 (8.5x19 ft). Sharing bathrooms helps a bit: 2 2x6 parking spaces could share 2x2 m2 of bathroom, leaving 2x5 m2 of housing on each side. Going to a second story obviously helps immensely.
[Data: US compact parking spaces are 8x16 feet, 11.89 m2. I've been pacing out curbside parking; 2x6 is a common result. Parallel parking spaces are *supposed* to be 2.1-2.4m wide, and 6.1-7.9 m long, for 13-19 m2, though if you don't have paint and parking meters then compact cars jam themselves in more tightly.
I bought measuring tape and deployed it at my current stay. There's actually a bathtub but one could shower in 2.5*2.5 ft2, 0.58 m2. Toilet area needs 2.5 ft width for comfort, 3 feet or so depth so you're not knees against the wall. 4 stovetop burners fit in 2x2 feet, a sink needs less, a large fridge needs a bit more. That's 1.1 m2 total, but counter space is nice.]