Cohousing-L Mailing List: very small/ compact housing

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

At the Port Townsend EcoVillage, well into planning stages, we hope to have 
housing which is attractive, functional, AND distinctly less impactful than 
traditional homes. Plans include a mix of "satellite bedrooms" (small 
cabins, sharing external common kitchen/bathroom facilities), group housing 
(designed for multiple housemates), and separate houses of a more 
traditional sort. 

I'm seeking resources for housing design. It's not hard to find 
small-to-tiny prototypes for singles or the sort of couples who can live 
together in a boat or schoolbus. However, we also want to attract families. 
So we want sample houseplans for 2-3-4 bedroom housing, so that a family, 
say, of two adults and 2-3 kids, with a home-office-based business or two, 
could look at a plan or model and say, "Why, yes, we really could live in 
xxx square feet, if it were arranged like THAT!" 

What is the smallest  2-3-4 BR housing in your experience that can "work"? 
"Work" meaning people don't then feel the need to build storage buildings, 
garages, or move away for lack of space. Do you live in a house that's 
particularly compact? 

Can you suggest books (Japan? Europe?), actual plans, cautions, 
encouragement? Thanks! 

Lynn Nadeau
at RoseWind, but enthusiastically engaging in this new project in our 
neighborhood, Port Townsend Washington