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If the current trend for tiny houses are still too large, a New York design firm has come up with an alternative - made from recycled water tanks.

Called the Taku Tanku, it is large enough to fit a bed and a desk - yet light enough to be towed by a bicycle.

The team say the basic home, which has no bathroom and plumbing, can be used as a shelter. 

The house is made from two water tanks connected with a wood frame

The entire 'home' is just  9 sq m (96 sq ft).

'Carried by one or two persons or by a bicycle, by a car or potentially even by a boat, TAKU-TANKU is made out of water tanks and can travel through many landscapes to serve as companion and shelter but also as a sculpture that celebrates the vital role of water in our lives.'

Its interior can accommodate two to three people and has a compartment to store some luggage or belongings. 

It is also equipped with solar-powered LED lights. 

TAKU-TANKU is an eco-friendly project that can be easily assembled, built with off-the-shelf and re-purposed materials. 

The structure is composed by two 3,000 liter water tanks connected by a ring of wood that frames the entrance.

How it's made: the tanks have a wooden frame which forms the middle of the 'caravan' and has a door built in.

The structure can act as a shelter for people to sleep in, or even as a temporary playroom

'The materials used are relatively light, making Taku-Tanku easy to be carried by a person, by a bicycle, or by a car,' say Ertorteguy and Valente. 

'Also, given the nature of the water tanks, the structure could float and be carried by a boat.'

'The fact that the tanks are pre-fabricated makes it easier to build a shelter, not only in the configuration used on Taku-Tanku but in many other ways as well, from single units to multiple layouts as a modular complex,' say Marcelo Ertorteguy and Sara Valente, the founders of Stereotank.