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Leonardo Di Chiara, from Italy, designed an ingenious foldable house to mimic the functionality of a Swiss Army Knife. The ninety-six-square-foot building cost just £35,000 to build.

This tiny house has furniture folded inside its walls, mimicking the functionality of a Swiss Army Knife.

The ninety-six-square-foot building, which cost just £35,000 to build, starts out consisting of a single white room with no decor in sight.

But as the walls are unfolded its true functionality emerges.

It has a bed that folds down and an ingenious kitchen area, complete with a hob, cupboard space and a table and chairs for entertaining guests.

A bathroom, complete with a luxurious shower, can even be pulled out through a small gap in the wall.

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Rooftop sundeck: Leonardo Di Chiara (pictured), from Italy, built the astonishing foldable house in collaboration with Tinyhouse University

All white: The tiny ninety-six-square-foot building, which cost just £35,000 to build, consists of a single room with no decor in sight before it's unfolded

Time for bed? Wall-mounted mobile devices can be activated to pull out various pieces of furniture including a bed, drawers and a fully functioning kitchen

The miniature 'Swiss Army' house, called aVOID, is currently parked up inside the garden of Bauhaus-Archiv in the centre of Berlin.

Innovative wall-mounted mobile devices can be activated to pull out various pieces of furniture.

It is the result of an artistic-architectural research project directed by Leonardo Di Chiara in collaboration with Tinyhouse University.

Cosy: The bedroom area (pictured) has a foldable bed and bedside table built into its walls next to a window - just feet away from the kitchen

Keep it clean: Leonardo can prepare food in the modern-looking kitchen (pictured) with wooden surfaces... but will perhaps want to steer clear of cooking anything too pungent

Meal time: A table and four chairs can be pulled out of the walls when owners wants to entertain guests

Tight squeeze: A bathroom, complete with a luxurious shower (pictured left), can be pulled out through a small gap in the wooden wall

The project is also supported by numerous internationally-renowned technical partners.

Growing up in a tiny room at his parent's flat inspired Leonardo's incredible invention.

And he wants to take it to Copenhagen, the Netherlands and Paris before returning home.

'During all my life I have lived in a very small room in my parents' apartment in Pesaro, Italy,' he said.

'I was forced everyday to learn how to organize my space, fit all of my belongings inside the few cabinets, and to adapt my space to host my friends to play or later to study.

'I grew up with a minimalistic lifestyle, which certainly influences my design.

'From past experience in my room I learnt the importance of emptiness - functionally and physiologically speaking.

'This is why I started developing transformable furniture where everything can be hidden into the wall surface when it is not in use, having as a result 'a void' ready to be used again.

'Living inside my tiny house is such an amazing experience and it helps me to improve the quality of the space.'

Unpacking: The well-equipped kitchen has a little hob to cook on, as well as a small work surface to prepare food

Storage space: The Italian lives a minimalist lifestyle with just the essentials crammed into his small home. Here a kettle, pots, pans and other cooking essentials are neatly packed away

Home office: Growing up in a tiny room at his parent's flat in Pesaro, Italy, and learning to live with little space inspired Leonardo's invention

And he says the house teaches him to stay tidy and avoid accumulating unnecessary items.

'Living inside aVOID is not, in my case, just a minimalistic challenge measurable in square meters,' he said.

'Rather it seems an intimate relationship that, over the past few months, is getting me in direct contact with my first creation as an architect.

'It happens often that I stop and think, watching the space in its different functional arrangements.

'The living experience allows me to verify, test and modify the house, implementing it with new solutions.

'For this reason I call aVOID an 'open' prototype: a work-in-progress construction site.

'The tiny house is like a short instruction manual to reductionism.

'By itself, it teaches and pushes you to deprive yourself of unnecessary things, to consume less water and less energy, to put back your clothes in their place and to wash the dishes immediately after eating.

'The void, which is obtained by closing again all the wall-mounted furniture, is the refuge of my creativity.

'The absence of any visual distraction caused by personal objects or daily business makes room for my imagination, which is reflected into my future designs.'

Cheers: Leonardo (left) and his guests enjoy a glass of wine in the house's dining area decked with a table and chairs

Meeting space: The elegant furniture in the miniature mobile house can be arranged into a conference hall formation

On the road: The aVOID is currently parked up inside the garden of Bauhaus-Archiv in the centre of Berlin, but Leonardo wants to take it to Copenhagen, the Netherlands and Paris before returning home to Italy

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