The HOME House Project
The HOME House Project is an initiative that aims to develop sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and affordable low-income housing. It is a multiyear design challenge to architects and builders who are challenged to imagine a world where environmentally-friendly housing is the norm.
The concept of the HOME House Project is that it is a community effort that enables young people in care to leave the foster system in a planned way. It supports local authorities to achieve these goals and provides support to young people leaving the system.
The project focuses on four key areas: sustainability, affordability, design, and collaboration. It includes a replica home that allows buyers to inspect the home before buying. The building program is divided into active zones on the first floor and passive zones on the second. This helps shorten construction time and reduces the labor required for the home. It also incorporates a steel structure to cut down on the load.
The program also integrates multiple learning platforms. Students use their knowledge of math and design to create a tiny house. They also need to understand how to work in a team and how to collaborate in the classroom. They are challenged to answer questions about the design of the house, and they need to learn to use the building’s materials in a cost-effective manner.
The building team also tackled a range of other projects. This included a high-tech contemporary home in Brookline, Massachusetts, an attic makeover in Boston’s historic Charlestown, a two-family home in Lexington, Massachusetts that is being converted into a bed and breakfast, and a shotgun single in Tampa, Florida. In addition to these projects, the crew traveled outside of Massachusetts to renovate a house in Silver Lake, California and an 1886 Conch Captain’s house in Key West, Florida.
The HOME House Project was launched by the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Its open competition drew 440 entries from six countries. This included essays and architectural plans. Each of the projects involved a design strategy that considered how the home would function and how to reduce its impact on the environment.
The design of the project house is based on its location and context. The building is a modest 46 square meters in size and is located in a small alley. The largest windows are oriented to the garden. The design utilizes a reduced palette of materials. Its masonry is recycled, and its details are reused to save on costs.
The project is a collaboration between This Old House and Homes for Our Troops. The former’s work has been completed on the second floor of a century-old barn that has been converted into a jewel box home. The project will include a remodeled porch, a new roof, and a fixed foundation. The latter’s work will involve a remodel of the interior and exterior of the Queen Anne Victorian.
The building will be restored in 2021. In the meantime, John and Molly plan to remove the 1970s carpet and the doors to nowhere. They will replace the rotting porch and a faulty foundation.
