As a college student with multiple roommates, there’s always those times I doubt our house is REALLY 1,500 sq ft. Now imagine living in a house with only 400 sq ft! One of the most recognizable products of sustainable design is the recent popularization of tiny homes. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a tiny home is a part of the social movement in which individuals choose to live in properties between 100 to 400 sq ft on a day to day basis. With such little room to work with, each object must preform multiple tasks to compensate for the lost space.
I recently got the opportunity to see some tiny homes first hand during a trip to Atlanta! At the SCAD Atlanta campus, select students from the school of the building arts came together to design an innovative solution for today’s urban living. Teams were given the task to create a functional living space; which remains stationary in a converted parking garage. It was so exciting to see such creativity applied to a growing issue. I loved investigating the various solutions they came up with. Now I neglected to bring my camera up to the ScadPad level, but I couldn’t help but snap some quick pictures on my iPhone.
The location only featured 2 tiny homes, but they managed to fabricate an entire surrounding space that completely transformed the environment. I hardly even noticed I was in a parking garage! Here we have my lovely roommate sitting on a swing completely made of old watering hoses! The swing was surprisingly comfortable while holding strong against the elements.
Next we found this little garden. They had flowers, peppers, strawberries and tomatoes! I’d love for them to take it a step further to the point where a majority of their produce is sourced right from their garden. However, since the homes aren’t actually resided in, I think it was a lovely start.
My favorite area was their patio living room, complete with a wall of live greens that appear to grow straight from the cement. The plants really completed the space by converting a rather dirty garage wall into a gorgeous, natural statement piece. At first I thought they might be fake but I was awed as I admired their handiwork of stabilizing an entire system of roots in soil.
Though the area was quite small, they incorporated a number of unique elements within their design. While I don’t plan to make a career out of tiny homes, I would love to one day take on the challenge of creating my own and experience what it would be like to live in such small quarters. Although if I ever do, I would definitely be living on my own or I think I would go insane!
Here are some more shots from the pad:
If you’d like to see some better quality images of these tiny homes (along with their interiors!) or simply learn more about the project process, check out the ScadPad website. Don’t pass on this great site from above!
Have a great day!
Victoria Wulf