Aquaid brochure

TinyHouses

Designed by Amber Quaid

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“It’s exciting. I’ve never owned my own house,” Betty Ybarra, a formerly homeless woman who’d lived in a tent in Madison, Wisconsin, told NBC 15 News last December.

Portland hopes to have the first micro-community in place by February of next year.

Nonprofit Micro Community Concepts teamed up with TechDwell, an area company specializing in micro-home design, to work on concepts with the city.

Initial plans include 25 housing units on a given plot of land, with laundry, administrative services and other amenities present on-site. The

192 square-foot homes, which would cost $250 to $350 per month to rent, would allow individuals making just $5,000 to $15,000 a year to be able to afford them, according to Dave Carboneau of TechDwell.

The tiny homes project being led

by Mayor Hales, who Alpert said is “infatuated”with the idea, reflects a significant change in dealing with homelessness from city leadership.

In February, protesters carrying lit torches descended upon Portland City Hall, angered by the mayor’s attempts to clear out homeless campsites in public spaces, according to the Portland Mercury.

Cover photo and inside photos courtesy of tinyhouse.com

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Future Living T

photos courtesy of techdwell.com

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he newest innovation in house design is the new tiny houses. Tiny houses are designed for smaller, more efficient living spaces, as well as being more eco-friendly. According to greenliving.com the average new house was 1,780 square feet in 1970 and by 2007 that size had expanded to more than 2,400 square feet.

Tiny houses are approximately 200-square-feet up to 800-square-feet. That would allow three of the largest tiny houses to fit into one average size American home.

The green movement has created an awareness of the immediate and long-term costs associated with the size, waste and energy consumption that go with owning a larger house.

Families are starting to buy tiny houses due to design features that utilize the most space for optimal uses. Tiny houses consist of a single room divided into sections to convey the facets of an average American home. Each house is individually created to suit the owners need.

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photo by Amber Quaid

“Before people can get back on their feet and take advantage of job training and drug and alcohol counseling, they need a place to live,” — Deborah Kafoury, Multnomah County Chairwoman

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Homeless…

Robbie Couch Huffingtonpost.com

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he city of Portland, Oregon, is nearing approval of construction for tiny home communities on public land in order to house homeless and low-income residents, the Oregonian reported. Josh Alpert, the city’s director of strategic initiatives under Mayor Charlie Hales, said it’s not so much a question of if, but rather, when the homes will be built in partnership with Multnomah County, according to the news source. The city will ask various public branches in the area, including Portland Public Schools, to provide surplus land for the homes.

“Before people can get back on their feet and take advantage of job training and drug and alcohol counseling, they need a place to live,” Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury said Wednesday, according to the Oregonian. “This helps accomplish that.”

Creating tiny home communities has proven to be a successful strategy for other cities around the country combating homelessness. Similar projects in Wisconsin, Texas and New York have put permanent roofs over heads in recent years, Reuters reported, allowing residents to focus more on moving forward in other areas of their lives.

photo courtesy of popularresistance.org

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The inside of a mini house is much the same of an average size house, just designed for optimal use and limited space. The main floor is one room divided into sections. These sections are the living room, the kitchen and dining area. The living room usually contains of a couch, which sometimes doubles as a bed, and a small living area. The living room shares its space with the dining area to maximize space but still give room and separation.

The dining area includes a table for two with chairs or stools that fit underneath the table.

Next comes the kitchen with modified appliances. The appliances are made smaller to accommodate the area. Dishwashers are not included, nor standard size refrigerators.

Mini houses contain a separate bedroom area, either in a loft style above the kitchen or as a second floor.

The smallest version The stairs that lead to the next level are designed for maximum space usage. Shelves, heaters, closets and a pantry have been designed under stairwells. The stairs themselves have been altered into shelves that are stacked to make steps or the steps have been made small and oddly stacked to create no extra space.

Most tiny houses have a small but fully functional bathroom with a shower instead of a tub. The loft area is usually the bedroom area to create separation from the busy part of the house and privacy. Those that don’t have a second story have a bed that folds away or turns into another functional item such as a couch or table. The few mini houses that do have a laundry area have a washer only with outside drying or a smaller stackable washer/ dryer combo behind the kitchen area.

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Each tiny house is customized to the individual based on a basic floor plan. The basic floor plan shows the most effective use of the space but can be altered for a larger kitchen or smaller living room.

A secondary loft is avaliable in most basic average size tiny homes. The loft allows privacy and efficent use of space above the kitchen/bathroom to allow an open air living. The open air living room adds to the illusion of more room.

Illustration by tinyhouse.com

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Tiny house versus average house According to smallhousesociety.net • micro home, 15 square meters / 161.46 square feet • compact home, 20 square meters / 215.28 square feet • miniature home, 25 square meters / 269.10 square feet • tiny home, 30 square meters / 322.92 square feet • little home, 35 square meters / 376.74 square feet • small home, 40 square meters / 430.56 square feet • efficiency home, 45 square meters / 484.36 square feet • reduced size home, 50 square meters / 538.12 square feet • downsized home, 100 square meters / 1076.39 square feet • average size home 200 square meters / 2152.78 square feet [in the United States]

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Alternate Version

Staff hometuneup.com

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hipping container houses are the hallmarks of architectural recycling. These are Intermodal Steel Building Units, or ISBUs, that are reused as structures for any place and for any purpose. Be it a home, a studio, a port or palaces, shipping containers are inexpensive and durable buildings for residential, commercial and even industrial use. ISBUs are made of 100 percent Corten Steel, and there is a range of different sizes for them.

However, the popular choices, for shipping container houses are former sea

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containers that come in two standard sizes: • 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet tall, equaling to 160 square feet. • 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet tall, equaling to 320 square feet.

Alone, these can be suited as a tiny house. Even so, some people put multiple containers together for a bigger house. Others have even built entire commercial marine ports out of shipping containers, as well as big company headquarters, student housing and homeless shelters.

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