Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2020
Degree Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
William Carpenter
Secondary Advisor
Bronne Dytoc
Abstract
Where does the idea of “Tiny Home - Big Mindset” come into play with all the information that has been presented, you may be wondering. I am proposing that we take a new position at how we live, starting with our personal space and home dwellings. One of the main issues with tiny homes is that they are looked at as RV’s (recreational vehicles) or motor homes, but I’d have to argue and say that they have much more to offer is comparison to what they have been mistaken for. While most tiny homes are mobile, they are not RV’s. I stumbled upon the tiny home scene early February of 2017 and got a job interning with a new tiny home company. During the time that I was interning I had the opportunity to attend the annual Georgia Tiny Home Festival, where I was able to see the varying styles and benefits of tiny homes construction. Just a few benefits that I can name off the top of my head about tiny homes for personal and environmental reasoning: most include use of recycled materials such as lumber, in actual construction they cost less to build and usually do not require any type of mortgage or refinancing for owners, very customizable or individual tastes and style both on the interior and exterior, easy to maintain and repair, many homes run on solar power and other low carbon emitting power sources and they also use less non- renewable resources such as water and gas which helps reduce the carbon footprint the owners of the home will have on the earth, also there a high sustainability and self-reliant mentality for those that live in tiny homes. Since a tiny home is also very small the idea of wanting to collect things excessively is lessened by a large amount due to having a limited amount of space. The average tiny home is about one eighth of the size of the average house in America and it cost about one tenth the price that the average American house would cost to build. The big take away from tiny homes so far: first less on waste not only in construction, but also in and resources, and secondly less on cost to construct and ownership.
Tiny homes also have a strong sense of community in the types of people that usually live the tiny home lifestyle. The idea of tiny living is slowly being integrated into the Atlanta area. There is currently a proposal for a tiny home community in DeKalb County Georgia; this community would be made up of forty fixed foundation tiny homes that would start off at $125,000 for a 250 square-foot home. While the idea of a close knit community is present, the concept of being able to move ones house from one place to another and the idea of affordability is not seen at this proposed location due to the increased rates of the city trying to gain a large profit upfront. I like the idea of the tiny home community but would like to implement it in another way in the metro-Atlanta area. My site is not pinpoint specific because I would like to have various tiny home locations throughout the Atlanta area that have their own micro-habitat and could be supported city wide through the connection of a social and cultural hub such as the Beltline of Midtown. My sites would allow for there to be a certain amount of long-term tiny home resident lots and another short-term tiny home resident lots. The goal being to create an environment of mixed styles and having a new subculture added to Atlanta’s overall cultural diversity. I believe that seeing tiny homes in this type of setting would show not only their distinct style and variations but also be a public display of different types of environmental sustainable factors such as the use of recycling rain water, strategic design layout for different seasons, and also the use of solar power. As well as having these tiny home specific sites I would like to also design a tiny home to best fit Georgia and other temperate climate zone using local materials and embracing the new up and coming rustic modernity that Atlanta is beginning to implement around the city. Tiny Living and how I can help change it for the better: While tiny houses and tiny living are becoming more popular the means of designing and building them within a reasonable time still have some flaws. Most tiny homes are privately owned and built by either the actual homeowner or a small company that works at their own set pace due to many customization or edits to errors in construction. This makes the process a bit consuming and inefficient with use of time. My idea to help improve tiny living is to implement a sleek modern design into a modular system that could a varying number of preferred setups not only within each unit but in relation to multiple units that would give the owner the option to live out on their own or join together in a tiny living community.