HAVEN STUDIO

Project Overview

Chad Kraus | Fall 2022

Tiny Home / Studio Space

East Hills KU Warehouse, Lawrence, Kansas 500 sq ft

Description

Haven Studio is a design build project aimed for designing a net-positive tiny home. This project was entered into the Department of Energy’s 2022-2023 Solar Decathlon. A team of 28 students helped plan, design, fund raise, and built the small structure outside the University of Kansas’s East Hills warehouse location. It is being used as a demonstration home and design studio space to serve generations of students to come. This project required knowing how to efficiently and effectively work as a team to make close deadlines. Keeping up with a work ethic, as well as putting your best foot forward at all times. Our team worked on multiple softwares, ranging from Sketchup, Lumion, Revit, and CAD softwares. We learned more about different construction and manufacturing companies and how to speak to one as if we were in a firm.

Key Learning Outcomes

Understanding how to work as a team and continue making progress, even if you get to a “bottle neck.” Also understanding what goes into the process after designing a structure and what needs to be thought of and get done.

As of January 2023, we finished pouring concrete and our foundation and started to work on attaching the floor.

Haven Studio was comprised of 28 students, both third and fourth year undergraduate architecture students. We faced other schools are the world in designing a residential (later turned studio) space with a goal of netzero to pave the way of sustainable design of the future.

While the main purpose of Haven Studio was to show how it can be a tinyhome and other designs increasing the number of rooms, the University of Kansas Architecture School’s main plan is for it to be used as a studio space. It allows for a quiet work place and meeting area outside the loud warehouse just to the south of it.

The main room consists of a row of cabinets and kitchen appliances. A full sized sleep sofa sits near the back, as well as a long table stretching through most of the structure.

An ADA accessible bathroom is near the north-west corner of the structure, complete with a shower, toilet, and linen closet. Most of the mechanical equipment rests above this room in the ceiling, being hidden away from the vaulted main room.

All renderings done by Aria Lynch

The budgeting excel went into detail on what exactly we need to purchase and plan for. Everything from materials, extra tools, services, and donations was rerecorded here. In the end, we had enough in-kind and solicited donations to fund Haven Studio.

Recording who has agreed to donate products, service, or time, as well as keeping tabs as to when we receive the donations and social medias to shout them out and thank them.

My specific role in this project was Studio Lead, which was described as “mini Chad.” I was second in command so I had to lead the studio and push them to complete their tasks with their best. I had to have an idea of everything going into the project, as well as be the main point of contact for external vendors, since my professor was busy teaching the class. I worked on budgeting the entire project as well as fundraising and reaching out to manufacturers for sponsorships and donations.