project developement

The m-ch is the outcome of a research project at Technical University Munich to design a 2.6m cube dwelling. The project was initiated by Prof. Richard Horden with his team of students and assistants in 2001.

The research project began as a collaboration between TUM and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The project is inspired by Japanese tea-house architecture and utilises advanced European and Japanese prefabrication methods and concepts.

The concept was first tested in a mock-up, which is still on display and in use at the University institute. Considerations on cluster assembly of the single units led to a feasibility study for student housing funded by the Bavarian state.

In 2005 a case study student village was unveiled in Munich. The village, commissioned by Studentenwerk Muenchen and sponsored by telecommunications company O2 Germany, provided an opportunity for Horden Cherry Lee Architects in London and Haack Hoepfner Architekten in Munich to collaborate on production of the first m-ch units.

Other explorations of applications of the m-ch include a collaboration with Dutch artist Marijke de Goey, which led to the design of the 'reed huis'.

Other spin-offs include the Tree Village, the Golden Cube, low-e.home and snowboard village, all of which demonstrate how the basic concept can be adapted for a number of uses, environments and cultures.