MINIMA

Designed byTRIAS Architects

Simple, elegant, and cleverly compact, Minima is a prefabricated micro-dwelling designed by the award-winning team at TRIAS.

The ultimate ‘tiny house’, Minima works beautifully as a rural retreat, a backyard room, a suburban studio, a hangout space, a holiday getaway, weekender cabin, a home office – or anything you’d like it to be.

Minima blends master craftsmanship, smart design, and a robust build. A timeless addition to any garden, backyard, or rural property, it is a highly versatile dwelling offered in a standard and double module.

The Minima¹ is the original design that offers small footprint living with a big impact. This module, which includes a kitchen, bathroom, and flexible sleeping and living spaces, can be configured as a mini apartment or guest room, or can be simplified as a home office.

Minima² offers a double module design, which is arranged as a striking T-shaped compact house. It expands to include one or two bedrooms, living and dining areas, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

The Minima prototype can be viewed by appointment at our factory at Somersby on the NSW Central Coast.

Minima Designs

The DIY

The Poolhouse

The Mini Mini

Minima ¹

The Studio

The Hangout

The Extra Bedroom

Minima ²

Two For One

Minima ³

Three For One

The Longhouse

Minima ⁴

Work From Home

The Garden Room

The Verandah

Minima4 – Two Storey | FABPREFAB Minima Design

Two Storey Minima

Minima ⁵

Design without compromise

2021 HOUSES Awards: Shortlist –
New House under 200m2

2021 Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards – Commendation for Sustainability. (Awarded to
TRIAS)

Exemplary design is at the heart of FABPREFAB’s mission. To fulfil this, we partner with leading architects who share our passion for beautiful, well-crafted, and sustainable prefabricated and modular dwellings.

Minima was designed in collaboration with reputed Sydney-based architecture studio TRIAS.

Their award-winning studio was founded on three core principles – to create buildings that are solid, simple, and beautiful.

TRIAS excel at designing innovative, carefully crafted residential homes that marry practicality and elegance. They have built a reputation for dwellings that balance clean lines and a minimalist approach, with textured, and natural materials. A philosophy captured perfectly in Minima in each of its configurations.

Minima received a Commendation in the sustainability category of the HOUSES awards and was shortlisted in the ‘New House under 200m2’ category.

A thoughtful
approach to design

Great design is central to making a small space liveable. An extensive design process was undertaken to ensure that Minima was comfortable, flexible and that everything in the space was streamlined and integrated, without compromising on quality or ease of use.

For a small space, Minima has a surprising amount of storage. Built-in cupboards, shelves and drawers wrap around the edge of the room, creating an open and versatile space in the centre. This makes it easy to transition from sleeping to cooking, and dining to relaxing, and ensures there is a place for everything without unnecessary clutter.

Thoughtful built-in elements and delightful details, like discreet joinery pulls and designer lights, many of which can be folded down or tucked away, also help to keep the space fluid.

Minima is screened by two large layers of glass doors and sliding timber screens. These pull back in two directions and pocket neatly into the building façade, bringing in natural light and airflow. While other high openings throughout the dwelling ensure good cross-ventilation and cropped glimpses outwards.

Sustainability
at its core

Minima is a small footprint home by design. Its compact nature and environmentally friendly qualities support a low-impact mode of living in a variety of settings.

A well-crafted, high-quality dwelling made to be enjoyed for the long term, sustainability is at the forefront of its design and construction.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a renewable and highly sustainable building material that has been used extensively in Minima. CLT panels form the walls, floor, and roof of each structure.

Ideal for prefabrication, CLT is a robust, environmentally friendly building material as it offers substantially shorter construction times, less work in a building’s foundations, and far less wastage.

Sourced locally from sustainably managed pine forests, the CLT panels are designed and made in Australia, at X-Lam in Wodonga. Aside from supporting local industry, this also reduces shipping, saving time and lowering price points.

The Minima can generally be built and ready in as little as ten weeks, with off-grid versions available.

High-quality
materials and
construction

Structure
Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)
Exterior
Rough sawn timber cladding with tinted sealer

Timber screens with fly screen backing
Floors and Walls
Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)

Liming white floor finish

Sky Grey (natural finish) porcelain tiles

Joinery
PureWood - Natural Matt Joinery

Porcelain benchtops
Soft Furnishings
Upholstered daybed seat cushion

Sheer linen curtains
Electrical
Flos Glo-Ball mini wall lights

LED strip lights
Fixtures and Fittings
Fisher and Paykel appliances

Parisi taps and bathroom fittings

Which Minima is for you?

The Minima was originally developed as a single, 24.5m² design. However, we were so excited by the opportunities its clever design offered we went on to develop six versions of Minima.

Each Minima is designed to suit a slightly different setting, price point or purpose by expanding or contracting to provide either more or fewer rooms. At 49m² gross, the Minima² versions are twice that of the single module.

Regardless of which version you choose, the design DNA of the Minima remains the same in every version, ensuring beautiful, well-designed, and crafted spaces that prioritise sustainability and quality.

If a larger footprint arrangement is your preference, further details on custom designs – inspired by the Minima ‘Kit of Parts’ and designed by TRIAS – can be provided upon enquiry.

Minima ¹

Complete Minima (The Original)

The original 24.5m² version of Minima is simple and compact with a kitchen, bathroom, and flexible living and sleeping spaces.

It has wide doors to one side and a smaller access door to the other. The main doors stack back entirely, opening the space nicely and connecting it to the outdoors.

Clever storage comes in the form of built-ins including a fold-down bed (which easily packs away), a long, cushioned daybed, two cupboards (designed to serve as a wardrobe), and an open shelf, which sits between the cabinetry and ceiling.

To the opposite side of the space is the kitchen, with a single sink, cooktop, a pull-out pantry, and oven. While the bathroom has a basin, toilet, and shower, with storage tucked behind the mirror cabinet and a skylight with views of the sky above.

The Home Office

An ideal breakout room or separate studio set away from your main residence, The Home Office Minima has space for a small bathroom and kitchenette. Along the opposite wall is an ideal spot for a long, built-in desk and shelves, while a small table at the room’s centre can serve as a place for meetings or coffee breaks.

The Hangout

The Hangout Minima is a tidy, stripped back and highly flexible space. Fitted with a kitchen and bathroom, it can be used as an extra room for whatever you need it to be. Whether that’s an art or yoga studio, a pool house, games room, teenage retreat, entertaining space, or a spare room.

The Extra Bedroom

Built like a main bedroom, The Extra Bedroom version of Minima is a comfortable and cleverly compact space. Equipped with room for a bed, built-in robe, and en-suite, this Minima can serve as private, self-contained sleeping quarters for visiting guests or family members, such as grandparents or a growing teen, wanting their own space.

Minima ²

The Home Away From Home

Love the original Minima but want a little more space? Minima² is for you.

Perfect as a one-bedroom, self-contained apartment, holiday rental or rural retreat, The Home Away From Home Minima is made from two modules, interlocked together, offering larger bedroom and living areas.

One module of Minima² features an L-shaped kitchen, fitted with essential appliances and storage, a built-in seat for dining, a TV cabinet, and room for a dining table and lounge. Wide screen doors pull open to the garden and deck, with a smaller door located to the other side.

The other module contains the bedroom, with space for a bed, with a built-in wardrobe on one side, and a study desk on the other. Along with a bathroom, fitted with a basin, toilet, shower, and overhead skylight.

Two for One

The Two for One version of Minima² is the biggest of them all. Featuring two bedrooms, it provides more space and works perfectly as a tidy micro-house or holiday retreat.

This reworked design features one module with two comfortable bedrooms, each with a built-in wardrobe and shelf. The second module hosts a bathroom, kitchen, and a banquette seat with room to add a dining table and living area in the space between the two areas.