NY DESIGN WEEK 2013 - WANTED DESIGN
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FRIEZE NEW YORK 2013
William Root constructed and completed this Tiny House project after his freshman year at Pratt.
The thought of summer vacations evoke thoughts of flings, new friends and the occasional awkward family vacation. For me this is what I thought was the general consensus for myself and my peers' summer vacations until I met William Root.
Hailing from Albaquerque, NM, Will Root is a fellow sophomore at Pratt Institute for Industrial Design. Will is one of the characters that can only be found in an art school, attractinb a veritable cult following on campus with his iconic structuralist book bag, which he designed and made several versions of the bag during foundation year. In one of our many all nighters together we inquired about each others lives and in turn this past summer.
For most students, the reality of the summer is working to pay off their debts. Will realized that working a minimum wage job would pay for a mere two weeks at Pratt. Not content to rely on tips, he opted to think big—big enough to cover an entire year at school. With an entrepreneurial mindset that only the school of hard knocks could teach, he set out to build (and sell) in his words "The best Tiny House ever made."
In the time it usually takes to adjust to being back home, Will finalized his design for a Tiny House and set out on construction within the week. In a rented lot near the lumber yard, he set out creating the project that would consume his entire summer. Tiny Houses, all though not definitively defined, do tend to have some common characteristics, mainly that their proportions and size are constrained to the size of a trailer.
Still, one of Will's goals was to make a no compromise Tiny House. Where many other designs made the house as small as possible, he made his as large as state laws would permit. Thus, he was able to incorporate a full-size kitchen, tiled bathroom, and a 9×13 sized deck. In total the house encompasses a mere 160 sq. ft, which is small even by NYC standards, where the legal minimum is 400 sq. ft.
Will expressed his concerns with creating a livable space on a budget while remaining appeal to the hesitant buyer, and the finish and decorations are tasteful yet still within financial reach. Ultimately, the project was a success: a woman in New Orleans purchased the house, and Will's profit is going directly towards his tuition at Pratt. If it didn't sell, he optimistically said that he simply would have lived in it on campus.
Over the course of two and half months, the house was nearly completed—95% done according to Will. His story illustrates not only his own tenacity and perseverance but the power of conviction when it comes to creativity. We've all had great ideas that we knew would work but were perhaps too ambitious for anyone besides ourselves to believe in, and so we let those ideas sink back into the unfinished bucket list of our lives. William not only inspired me but led me to a realization on the importance of a strong inner voice. That voice comes in many forms, but however it comes to you, hold onto and let it keep resonating within you. Otherwise you may be living a life full of tiny accomplishments and not Tiny Houses.
If you would like to contact Will you can do so by his email, wroot@pratt.edu
Comments
Excellent work! The workplace smiles upon people willing to get their hands dirty. Too many people nowadays are removed from doing actual "work" and prefer instead to sit at a desk all day.
My only comment about this superbly designed piece is something more pragmatic: Weight. What's the curb weight on a house like this? Conventional building materials are heavy, and it looks like not much in here (from the casual photography) has been lightweighted.
I'd be interested in knowing a little more about the guts behind the outer facade.
URL please..
William,
I really like your design and was wondering if you have more pictures that you could possibly send me at michael_carmack0946@yahoo.com I'm a disabled veteran that lives on a very tight budget which means I barely survive month to month and have almost nothing to spare beyond the basics. I plan to hopefully change that with the help of some of my friends and hopefully the building of a small house such as this one. I've got friends that are carpenters, plumbers, etc., and I've got a background in the trades myself from helping my grandfather who was a carpenter when I was growing up. Any help and information / guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Michael
Beautiful, but was just wondering where you got the money to build this? Most people that want to do this have this obstacle from keeping them accomplishing it. I'm sure they would like to know how they can do this, too.
So many tiny homes look like something meant for Burning Man. Victorian dollhouse dreams of little granola-eating girls. Sloping walls, false craftman cornices, protruding dormer windows. Useless little corner prettiporches that swallow up 1/6 of the floor. Impractical to move, and so ugly in their falseness.
I really want to praise William so much for his design. This incorporates so many things I've been favoring in a tiny house. He's proven that they work. Vertical walls all around. Entrance on the side, fold-out deck and awning. Very well thought out. This is the best tiny house I've ever seen!
He might improve aerodynamics by making the front curved (think; horse trailer), pointed, or by placing an appropriately-shaped window-box there. I might suggest adding a skylight doubling as access to to a rooftop porch. I'm still curious about what the bedroom area looks like.
I'm the creator of the Tiny House. I am excited to see people's reactions to my work and will try to answer any questions and respond to emails.
Tom Mc,
This house is quite heavy for a trailer. Most Tiny Houses are constructed using standard construction materials, and I chose to do so in this house as well. As a result, it makes for an extremely heavy trailer, somewhere around 4 1/2 tons. The trailer is very heavy duty, rated to 6 tons and built with extra supports, so it handles the weight amply. It is, however, a difficult load to tow, so for long moves it would probably need a weight distributing hitch to help handle the load.
kostas syrtariotis
I am building a website, but it isn't up yet. Keep an eye on universdesign.co for my work, it should be up before long.
deborah
Half of it was paid for by selling my car and buying a cheaper one. The other half was paid for from college savings that I didn't need because of a large scholarship I got this school year.
Michael
I chose not to consider aerodynamics because I think of it more as a house and less as a moving home. I didn't want to sacrifice the design of the interior space to aid it in the few times it would ever be moved. I did also include a skylight over the living area which gives easier access to the roof. Also, the bedroom area is the same space as the living area. The house is in two levels. The living area in lower and thus has 10 foot ceilings and the kitchen and bath are on the higher level and thus have have 8 foot ceilings. The bed (on wheels) rolls under the floor of the kitchen about 3/4 of the way leaving the end out to use as a sofa in the living space. Under the bathroom is a large storage area open to the outside. Keep an eye on universdesign.co for an update showing my work.
-Will Root
wroot@pratt.edu
Will, I'm curious where the occupant would sleep. I'm assuming something converts into mattress space but I can't see where that is.
The sofa slides out from under the kitchen and converts into the bed.