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Tiny Homes



I really enjoyed the Ted Talk by Alejondro Aravena, especially the part about Self-Construction and the ideas that when building homes for the poor, just making them smaller isn't a solution. They need to have ownership and be able to expand when they have the means.

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These ideas reminded me of a tiny house movement that has been happening in Detroit. Although it goes against Alejondro's comments about the issues with only providing a smaller version of a house, I can see some potential for the project. Larger lots of land are split into smaller parcels and a small house is built. Residents rent these homes for a very small amount ($200 - $400 per month) and the company uses this money to pay their water, power, and security bills. After 7 years of paying this rent, the resident is given the house and deed to the land. Now they have a sense of ownership and there would be an opportunity for them to expand their house if the means became available.


Now I do think that the project would be stronger if the houses were specifically designed with future expansion in mind, but I think that the project is on the right track. In Detroit, there are also a lot of abandoned homes, and I wonder if there is an opportunity to bring some of these strategies into the adaptive reuse of these old houses. Maybe the structures could be partially renovated, leaving the frame of a full house, so that residents could pay for less, but still have room to grow in the future.

Comments

  1. Andrew CollinsFebruary 7, 2019 at 12:43 AM

    It is interesting that you discuss tiny homes. I am working with Dustin and Dan right now to refine a tiny house design that could be used, and re-used, by a native community in Canada. In addition, Dan and Dustin are designing ways to make it expandable with simple 'simply' kits that would add on an additional bathroom or porch. Very interesting.

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  2. Brittany DechantFebruary 7, 2019 at 10:23 AM

    I like the connection you made between the tiny house movement and the idea driving the half-built homes. It is important to give people a sense of ownership and encouraging them to make their home their own. We are all more likely to take care of things that we own and are responsible for.

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  3. Tarlan JMarch 6, 2019 at 1:18 AM

    I do agree that half-built homes are not just about making the size of the building smaller, but also to participate users in the process. I'm very fascinated by this idea and I think it will be a never-ending and active design. I also liked how you made connections with what happening in Detroit.

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