Tiny Houses Revisted

Tiny House Development

After work shopping my initial form ideas to my group, they suggested that I continue to develop the second form (the one that was based on Legos). I considered doing that but I felt more connected to the first form, which was a derivation of the typical style and plan of the region. But I wasn’t sure where to take the design…

Our class was given the opportunity to visit the site where our tiny house might be built. The site is beautiful! It is situated on a ridge between a river and a tributary with interesting boulder formations dispersed on the wooded property. I took photos of the lot, its surroundings, and the general property. After reviewing my photos of the trees, I started thinking about how the houses could be part of the environment without being visually intrusive. I immediately thought of two precedents that I have admired in the past and could prove to be informative to my new idea about camouflaging the house.

The first precedent is an old farmhouse in France that has been converted into a luxury rental property. It is in a historic district with similar, un-renovated structures surrounding it. This precedent is interesting to me because the architect sticks to vernacular architecture while modernizing it. The converted has a modern aesthetic AND fits with the historic fabric of the area.

The second precedent is Thorncrown Chapel. This chapel uses linear structure to mimic the trees that surround it. This precedent was especially interesting to be as I questioned whether to use straight elements to represent trees or more organic, natural forms.

I decided to move forward with the idea of camouflaging the houses on the site. I used my original form, which is a variation on the vernacular central-hall, two-room plan of the mill houses that are common in the town. I chose to orient the house on the lot at an angle to expose the majority of the house to sunlight throughout the day. The new form and orientation does not indicate a definite front or back to the house. I not only considered the orientation of the house on the single lot but how, when clustered, the group of houses would help foster the social and cooperative dimensions that are so important in the co-housing model.

Based on my own observations and the feedback I received, I now have to more closely consider energy efficiency, green energy, and cost of materials. Additionally, I am still unsure if the vertical elements on the façade of my design should be linear or organic in form.