单选题 It"s not much, but it"s home. Francis Chan, an engineer, lives in Hampstead, north London, in a flat that"s just 4ft wide by 21ft long. He loves it.
Tiny though it is, it has got all the comforts. Peter Baynes, Chan"s architect (建筑师), has achieved a clever piece of design, according to architectural experts.
The Chan mini-house was built on what was once a path down the side of a big Victorian house. Not an inch of space is wasted.
When you step in through the front door, you"re standing in the shower, on Britain"s only self-cleansing doormat (自动清洁门垫). A door opens on to an equally tiny toilet with washbasin. Two steps further in comes the kitchen, complete with full-sized cooker and fridge, and washer/drier. A worktop folds down from the wall.
Another step and you"re into the dining/office area. Four people can sit here for dinner, says Chan as he sets the table-top into place. He even has a fold-down drawing-board for when he"s working at home. The bed is hidden under a cover board right at the back. "I don"t even have to make the bed," Chan says. "I just put the cover down."
Chan"s business suits hang neatly on the wall over the bed. Daylight comes in through the skylight. The house feels like a very small boat and Chan admits he toyed with the idea of naming it the "boat-house".
"It cost around 4,700 pounds to build last year. Now it"s been valued at 30,000 pounds. It proves that good design doesn"t need to cost more. It just needs a lot of care," says Chan.