To reduce the impact of human beings on the environment, shouldn’t we reduce their size? This is the starting point of American comedy Downsizing (2017). In an overpopulated world, scientists are developing technology to allow human beings to shrink. This is to alleviate the pressure they place on available resources. Failing to realize this cinematographic fantasy, man, for various reasons, today seeks to reduce the dimensions of what surrounds him.
Starting with those of his place of residence. Waltraud Schmitt, 67, decided to take the plunge in 2021. Shortly before her retirement, she bought a tiny house and set up in Finistère. “It was like a flash. It’s exactly what I dreamed of: a wooden house, ecological, surrounded by nature, and small. » To avoid living as a recluse, she settles in a small village where Jean-Daniel Blanchet, manufacturer of tiny houses, welcomes young couples, retirees or divorcees who want “to clear the mind”.
“We live close together in a friendly atmosphere, we chat easily », rejoices Waltraud Schmitt. The reduction of his living space, with a surface area of 14 square meters (without the mezzanine), encourages him to adopt a more minimalist lifestyle. “My shower is much smaller. I have a water tank that I need to fill. Unconsciously, this led me to reduce my consumption. »
Produce so much in a limited space
If the phenomenon still remains marginal in France, it is already attracting criticism. “There is a form of indecency in the debauchery of means implemented to live in tiny houses, as opposed to a desire for decline”regrets Thibaut Thomas, prospective consultant. “The story of the tiny house is based on the illusion of isolation from the outside world: I have my hanging garden, but I have to connect my computer produced in China to 5G because I am freelance… »he mocks.
But beyond aesthetics, there is often also necessity. As recently told by New York Times, in the United States, land, materials and interest rates have increased so much that part of the middle class is now pragmatically turning to tiny houses with mini gardens, the only way to access property. Certainly still marginal but in full development, this “great compression” of housing is encouraged by the public authorities and is the subject of real estate programs where properties are snapped up like (very) hot cakes.
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