Brattleboro, Vermont — Tiny House Fest Vermont (THFV) began with 5,000 attendees in 2016. As the festival grows, so does its engagement with not-so-tiny ideas. On Saturday, June 23, in downtown Brattleboro, up to 30 houses will be on view, and over 35 presenters will celebrate design while asking how the tiny house movement can change communities for the better.
View of the Pop up Tiny House Village in downtown Brattleboro. While Hurricane Harvey passed through the area, the number of houses and attendees who came to tour tiny houses and see presenters increased over the year prior. Credit: Liz Lavorgna, Core Photography
In the past, I’ve featured some of Rural Studio’s work before. In fact, it’s one of my favorite stories which dates back to July 2, 2010 and it’s titled Students Design/Build 400 Sq. Ft. Home for $20k.
The school builds tiny and small homes for only $20,000 in materials while providing affordable housing to those in need in the area while students are getting hands on design and construction experience. They also get a chance to give while doing it. On top of all that, recipients for affordable housing get access to night classes for continuing adult education.
Rural Studio is a housing project at Auburn University. Here’s a little bit about this particular project, the 20k House (Version 2).
The Outreach Program was conceived as a way to bring outside students and collaborators into the fold of the Rural Studio. It has evolved from individualized non-architectural projects to a team project. The Outreach students are embedded in the Thesis Studio and work to further the 20K House. One of the most challenging of all Rural Studio projects, it deals with the question: what kind of house can be designed for $10,000 in materials when the other $10,000 goes for labor costs and profit? Approximately four Outreach positions are available each year. Applications are accepted until the positions are filled. More information and an application is available to download.
~Outreach Program, Rural Studio, Auburn University
The goal of the $20K house studio is to bridge barriers in affordable federal housing programs. Architecture students get to develop home plans that can be built by local contractors to serve rural residents who have low or modest incomes and are unable to obtain housing through conventional financing.
