THIMBY Tiny House In My Backyard UC BERKELEY
Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) is an interdisciplinary team of UC Berkeley graduate and undergraduate students working together to design and build an innovative, affordable, net-zero-energy “tiny” house on the Berkeley Global Campus. In October 2016, we will transport the house to Sacramento in order to compete in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s 2016 Tiny House Competition.
EDUCATION
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
The THIMBY team envisions this project as an opportunity for students from diverse departments to learn about sustainable design principles through hands-on experience in all phases of development, from construction to commissioning to performance evaluation.
FRAMING + CONSTRUCTION
RENEWABLE ENERGY
WATER REUSE SYSTEMS
we will teach students basic techniques for framing and building, and examine the sustainability implications of material choices
we will teach students how to size and install renewable energy systems, including photovoltaic panels
we will teach students how to design and install systems for rainwater catchment and wastewater re-use
SITE+USERS Our design is meant to serve up to two residents at once--specifically, UC Berkeley students--at the site of the proposed Berkeley Global Campus. Although initially we will be building one unit, our tiny house will be a model for additional units, with a long-term goal of scaling to form a community of carbon-neutral housing.
Richmond Field Station
DESIGN The house will be compact (less than 400 sq. ft.), and will provide the essential amenities of home comfort. Beyond these basic items, the house will be designed with an emphasis energy and water efficiency. Ultimately, our goal is to create a living lab that demonstrates the union between affordable and sustainable housing
1’ 2’
Project Inception
RESEARCH + OUTREACH
5’
ER200 + Arch140 Class Tours
DeCal Class Starts Trailer Purchase
2015
10’
SMUD Competition
SMUD Tiny Home Workshop
NOV
3’
MAR
JUN
DESIGN + PROTOTYPING
Project Inception
Cal Day Open House
SEP
DEC
2016
PROCUREMENT + CONSTRUCTION
SMUD Competition
MAR
Pre-Competition Rally
JUN
OCT
HABITATION +TESTING
SMUD Competition