Tiny Home

This winter for New England has been quite a cold one, which has led people to stay inside rather than attempt to endure the outdoors. It is understandable for one to want to stay warm, but unfortunately that can't always be possible. Whether someone is homeless, can't afford heat, or for some other reason is forced to stay outside, there needs to be a way for people to construct a temporary home.

When given this task I knew that my Providence resources wouldn't fulfill the requirements, which led me to gather materials from a friend's house. Even with what seemed like Arctic temperatures outside, I managed to collect my desired materials and bring them back to my home. Planning this structure's design was something I was fond of since I had complete liberty to create whatever home I wanted. When bringing the design on paper to real life, there were some difficulties.

The branches gathered from the friend's house were strong but they lacked a way to secure them together. I already had pieces of bamboo in my backyard, which were hammered into the ground in a rectangular pattern. I decided to utilize the bamboo to create stable surrounding "walls," and I'd be able to use the other branches as part of the roof and to add extra support around the structure.

Because the temperature outside has stayed pretty constant, I decided to use the freezing weather to my advantage. Using ice melt buckets, trash bags, water, and branches, I created ice blocks with the curved branches to act as sloping roof/wall for the structure. While the ice was freezing, I stabilized the branches with wire, which isn't a natural material but I felt that since I didn't use the wire for the final product that the structure could still be considered natural.

Despite the freezing weather outside, the ice blocks took a few days to fully freeze. After the curved branches with the blocks were positioned correctly, the wire stabilizing the branches was replaced with vines from my backyard. I then placed a slightly curved branch across the top of the structure and toward the curved wall to add more downward support. A tarp was then added over the entire structure as the cover to the already present walls and roof. An extra branch was played over the tarp, on top of the blocks, in order to provide additional downward weight on the end of the tarp.

Overall the structure is secure and able to hold three people, but two would be preferable. There is enough height that most people wouldn't have to turn their necks to properly fit inside the structure. Considering the tarp is able to cover a majority of the structure, the temperature inside doesn't necessarily reflect the actual outside temperature. Proper winter attire should still be warm but the home is able to block out most of the wind chill, which can be the worst part of the weather. Even though there's room for improvement, this structure still fulfills the project's requirements. Given extra time and resources, the "tiny home" could become an actual family home.