Tiny homes are an often-employed strategy for reducing home prices, addressing the much-needed attainability challenges facing many American communities. However, tiny-home living only serves a small slice of the population: single and couple households. Families or combined household configurations cannot benefit from the attainability offered through tiny home construction. Multigenerational and shared living is on the rise in the United States. Particularly in warmer climates, such as Austin, Texas, combined household arrangements provide a pathway to attainability and support strong communities, benefitting both the physical and mental wellness of residents.
Rather than relegating one or two people to a single, 396-square-foot tiny home, combining two families or a group of friends within two units allows for a more socially connected, supportive living arrangement. The sleeping spaces are consolidated in one structure and the living spaces in the other, creating a fully functional kitchen and a living room worthy of family gatherings. The larger spaces accommodate accessibility for the residents, however both structures together, with a combined printed area of 792 square feet, fit within a single, 38-foot-by-100-foot print bed and provide 597 square feet of interior living space. A simple roof structure connects the two structures, forming a screened exterior space for al fresco dining or sleeping outdoors on a warm summer night. The screened porch also doubles as a mud room, with shoe storage and laundry. Solar panels and rainwater collection on the roof supplement resource access and the spaces created between the pairs of homes by the printer beds create space for drying laundry in the sunlight. A secondary 3D-printed outdoor shower sits just outside the primary sleeping space. Taking full advantage of the allowable height, a loft above the bedroom and bathroom provides an additional sleeping space and extra storage, with 116 square feet more interior area.
But this design concept is about more than two families. Using half of a typical Austin city block, the homes are organized to form a community enclave. With two homes per print bed, a total of seven print beds fit on 1.4 acres housing fourteen separate households. On an eighth print bed, a shared community building provides a large kitchen, gathering space, community garden and playground. A winding pathway connects the homes to a variety of programmed areas. Outdoor cooking, gardening, and other gathering spaces expand the functionality of the homes into the shared courtyards. 3D-printed raised planter beds in the shared courtyard and a community garden make fresh produce more accessible and create opportunities for residents across generations to create stronger social bonds. By drawing residents outdoors, their homes become part of a larger community, bringing neighbors together and making tiny home living feel not so tiny.
