Let's Build More Tiny Houses
#28 My Project, a Tiny House Project, and an Architects First Project?
From the Curator 😎💻
Yo, What's up! Joseph here
Well well well, we’ve made it almost through another week and Friday is around the corner y’all. This week I’ve jumped on a new project, a 14-day Product Challenge. I started this project this past Monday and so far I’m on a roll. This 14-day Challenge is to create a product that resonates with my audience and release it for sale on the 14th day. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to spam you or anything, but I think this product could be helpful for some people.. I’m making a portfolio package/template for high school students applying to college.
When I was in High School, I didn’t know wtf a portfolio was and much less how to put one together.. Now there are tons of videos on Youtube as a resource BUT not all of them make it easy for someone who doesn’t know how to use InDesign or Illustrator. I plan to make it super simple for someone to drag and drop and just send to print. Something they can be happy with and take pride in. I’m barely half way into my first week so if you want to follow along, follow my 14-Day Challenge on Twitter!
Article of the Week 📚
The Chandler Boulevard Bridge Home Village
Not sure where I first came across this project but like many people, I am fascinated by Tiny Houses... I feel like most architects just roll their eyes when they hear someone say they want to live in a tiny house and want it designed and built for less than $5,000. Thanks to Youtube and blogs where people brag about how they've cut all their bills and made it happen. At that price point you could just buy a shed and live in that.. But the reason why I brought all that up is because the one thing these glorified sheds turned into tiny houses lack is design. (Sorry if that came off mean.. I actually love a good tiny house… and want one..)
The Chandler Tiny Home Village is designed successfully with a fun aesthetic because of the constraints of the site. The colors act as wayfinding but also to identify zones within the village. Picnic area, side yard, yellow brick road, these zones mean something to these residents and help give the village a purpose. There’s even a dog park! How cool!! If you read through the article, these houses were built to alleviate some of the pressure caused by Los Angele's homeless crisis. By taking back these awkwardly shaped infill sites, Lehrer Architects was able to create a new home or homes rather, a safe place for these residents to live and call their own. Really life changing stuff!
Although it is just an experiment right now, I think this can catch on. According to endhomlessness.org on a give day there are 553,742 people in the US who are homeless. I'm not sure if this number is accurate but the fact is that many of these people aren't who they are made out to be. Not all of them are drug addicts or bad people. Creating a place for them to stay safe and get back on their feet is paramount to all of our cities and I hope to see more of these villages helping our communities soon.
Often times students like to propose these life changing ideas for their community but they stay on paper as false futures or ideas gone to waste. How can we make a change as designers and architects? Where do we start small? Let’s bring back these great ideas and really think them through, I guarantee this project was just a silly idea at some point until the right connections were made. Is there a similar project with a great mission near you? I’d love to learn more and see how we can support these causes!
Thought of the Week 💭
Does this sum up the class issue in architecture? What do you think the point of this slide is? Is this a product of only working for the wealthy or the struggle that young architects face early on in their career?
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That's all for this week, follow me on Twitter, Instagram, & Discord 📲
I'll be back next week, same time, same place! 💪🏽