Tiny Living: A Review of Tiny Houses as Sustainable Engineering Structures
Format
Oral Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Luke Lee
Faculty Mentor Department
Civil Engineering
Abstract/Artist Statement
The tiny house movement is a recently developed movement that focuses on sustainable housing at a low cost. Tiny houses are typically between 100 and 400 square feet and are designed to meet the needs of the occupant without having any unnecessary space left over. In order to further understand the movement and its benefits, this research project originally focused on three different aspects of tiny houses. These aspects were sustainability, aesthetics, and structural stability. By collecting and analyzing various pieces of literature, mainly consisting of theses, the movement can be described in terms of sustainability, including environmental, economic, and social impacts. As the project continued, aesthetics was removed from the scope, and the focus became the sustainable impact and an understanding of the movement and an opportunity for improvement. Overall, there is a lack of structural design in tiny houses, mainly due to legal restrictions or lack of specific codes for such small structures, but the general direction as far as costs and social and environmental impacts is positive. The oral presentation on this topic will cover the background of the movement, the current practices for tiny house building, the relationship between tiny houses and sustainability, and what the future holds for tiny houses, especially in terms of structural engineering.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Room 211
Start Date
29-4-2017 2:20 PM
End Date
29-4-2017 2:40 PM
Tiny Living: A Review of Tiny Houses as Sustainable Engineering Structures
DeRosa University Center, Room 211
The tiny house movement is a recently developed movement that focuses on sustainable housing at a low cost. Tiny houses are typically between 100 and 400 square feet and are designed to meet the needs of the occupant without having any unnecessary space left over. In order to further understand the movement and its benefits, this research project originally focused on three different aspects of tiny houses. These aspects were sustainability, aesthetics, and structural stability. By collecting and analyzing various pieces of literature, mainly consisting of theses, the movement can be described in terms of sustainability, including environmental, economic, and social impacts. As the project continued, aesthetics was removed from the scope, and the focus became the sustainable impact and an understanding of the movement and an opportunity for improvement. Overall, there is a lack of structural design in tiny houses, mainly due to legal restrictions or lack of specific codes for such small structures, but the general direction as far as costs and social and environmental impacts is positive. The oral presentation on this topic will cover the background of the movement, the current practices for tiny house building, the relationship between tiny houses and sustainability, and what the future holds for tiny houses, especially in terms of structural engineering.