Microhome, Modular Home

Published January 19, 2023

For this Summer 2021 studio, students focused on the design of a micro home and modular home to be entered into two design competitions. The overarching theme across both home types was to introduce a design strategy in response to specific environmental contexts and target users. Students considered what it means to design for a specific group or communal need, or how various pro - grammatic spaces could function when overall building footprint and square footage requirements are limited.

Ripple House

Forest fires in the Pacific Northwest are a major problem for firefighters in the region. At the time of this studio, the need for forest and wild-land firefighters had been growing at a rapid rate to combat areas in flames. Individuals and families displaced by the fires increased the need for urgent housing. Ripple House proposes a possible solution to this problem through a modular construction system utilizing cross-lami - nated timber panels. As a result of their overlapping structural integrity and lack of cavity spaces, cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a strong fire retardant. Within the proposal, students designed prefabricated modules that are assembled, shipped to site, and anchored to a pre-poured concrete strip foundation. By taking advantage of a prefabricated unit assembly, the Ripple House design can be customized to fit familial needs and expanded upon when needed. Ripple House gets its name from the terracotta rain-screen facade. Representative of rippling water, the homes symbolize the extinguishing of forest fires. Students took additional measures to design the landscaping of each community site. Succulents were added to the landscaping to provide an immediate boundary to each home, as they can retain a high amount of water and act as a natural fire retardant. A secondary layer of tree protection exists at a greater distance from each house and larger community. Using layers both in construction systems and landscaping increases protection amongst these building systems and larger communities.