Design Challenge
Design and build the most affordable and ecologically designed tiny house on the planet that is designed specifically for the Southern California semiarid/mediterranean climatic zone.
Traveling Educational Tour
Once complete the winning tiny house will become part of a traveling educational tour promoting awareness of the Eco-Lifestyle Challenge. The tiny house tour and staff will travel up and down the west coast sharing ecologic inspiration at schools, conferences, festivals and events.
Vision
Our vision is to create the most healthy, happy, beautiful and regenerative world possible via intelligent design and forward thinking sustainable community development.
Participants
Eco-Design Challenge participants will consist of architecture & design students from southern California.
Site
We are still confirming where the site will be for the 1st Local Earth Village. The prototype tiny house will be one of the structures for the 1st the Living Cluster Model. When the house is not traveling for educational purposes it will be lived in at the village and monitored for ecological design efficiency. The measurements will include daily temperatures through all 4 seasons for thermal comfort levels of passive solar heating & cooling, insulation efficiency, day lighting efficiency, grey water systems, rainwater catchment and renewable energy systems. This data will help inform adaptations and modifications to the design for future replications.
Design & Construction
The students will be mentored by local architecture firms during the initial programming and design phases of the project. The architecture firm will be chosen via a collaborative design challenge campaign with Houzz. The construction of the winning design will be lead by a local builder in conjunction with community volunteer workdays including students, parents, professors and affiliate organizations.
Open Source – all designs and plans will be shared freely with the world in the spirit of education, collaboration and co-creation!
Design Council & Jury
The design council will be composed of professional leaders in the fields of architecture, construction and urban planning. The council will assist in developing the specific design parameters as well as judging the challenge.
Design Parameters
specific details will be informed by the Design Council…
Building Materials
- x% – repurposed/recycled materials
- x% with x sustainability rating (rating system to be determined by design council)
- x% – natural building methods
- durability/longevity rating
- maintenance rating
Ecologic Design
- grey water system
- rainwater catchment system
- high efficiency appliances
- utilization of renewable energy
- natural daylighting
- passive thermal design (heating & cooling)
- utilization of appropriate technology
- integration of food production system
- integration of composting system
- highly efficient insulation rating
Local Earth Villages
The winning design will also be included in the open-source community development plans for Local Earth Villages. The Local Earth Villages will serve as innovative societal models for urban planning and sustainable community development.
