Social Bite Homeless Tiny House Village Project Guardian Feature

Social Bite Homeless Tiny House Village Project Observer Feature

Posted on Posted in Architecture, eco-friendly, news, Press, Small House, Social Architecture, sustainability, Tiny House, Tiny House Scotland

Excerpt from the Observer article about Social Bite’s founder Josh Littlejohn:

Half an hour outside Edinburgh, in a tranquil spot in West Lothian, Jonathan Avery sits drinking tea in his prototype NestHouse. It is a dinky place but full of thoughtful touches. There’s a compact, Japanese-style deep-soak bath, a cute mezzanine bedroom with views through a porthole window, and a very hygge wood-burning stove – all within a building just 3.4 metres wide. The exterior is clad in thermo-treated Finnish spruce and the insulated front door clunks shut with the authority of a bank vault. Avery wears rimless spectacles, chunky work boots and a lime-green T-shirt that matches the kitchen chairs and the front door. Is that on purpose? “No, it’s not deliberate,” says Avery. Then he whispers, “Yes it is, it’s deliberate. I’m a designer!”

When Littlejohn first imagined a village for the homeless, he saw the residents living in modified shipping containers. He admits that sounds “a bit shit”, but he’d seen an episode of Grand Designs where a young architect in Northern Ireland welded four together to create a luxury house. But the more Littlejohn investigated it, the more problems he came up against: cutting windows into containers quickly becomes expensive, and the buildings often fight a losing battle against condensation. “We could have done a glorified shed quite easily,” he says, “but it just would have failed because I think the living environment has to inspire change.”

A Social Bite employee found Avery’s website, Tiny House Scotland, and forwarded it to Littlejohn. Avery had been inspired to build his NestHouse after reading about the “tiny house” boom in the US. The movement was born as a response first to Hurricane Katrina and then to the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008: small (under 500 sq ft), cheap and cheerful accommodation that could be moved around if needs be.

Jonathan Avery of Tiny House Scotland. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Observer
Jonathan Avery of Tiny House Scotland. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Observer

 

 

Avery, 55, had personal experience of the economic downturn: he had been looking to expand his high-end kitchen design company, which had shops in Edinburgh and Glasgow, into London, but his bank suddenly declined to support him. He closed the business and decided to work on a smaller scale. Then Littlejohn and Social Bite came along. “It’s funny,” says Avery, “because going back to my furniture business 15 years ago, I’d have been making these for rich Edinburgh clients as a playhouse in the garden. Now I’m not so keen on that. There are other ways to use architecture; it should have a reason and a purpose.”

With a house design found, Littlejohn’s village started to take shape…

Read the full article.

Big Issue No.1215 25th July 2016.

The Big Issue - Tiny Houses

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Design, Press, sustainability

It is great to see Tiny House architecture being seriously explored as a potential tool in the context of homelessness, NFA (no fixed abode) and the Housing Crisis. I did an interview with the Big Issue last week and the NestHouse and I have been featured in the article.

This all chimes very much with my own view that Tiny and Small Houses whilst they may invariably elicit an “ooh how cute!” response, could have a more weighty purpose for certain housing groups. They are not holiday cabins, sheds or caravans but proper houses, so if we can iron out the Planning and Building Regulations issues (sigh/groan) there is tremendous potential for first time buyers, empty nesters, rural homesteaders as well as social housing applications in the community rental sector.

I for one am committed to fighting this corner and have several proposals simmering away for the NestHouse which would benefit society at large.

Please support the Big Issue - digital download available here.

Online version of article here.

Summer Midnight at The NestHouse

The NestHouse at Midnight

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Cabins, Nesthouse, Small House, sustainability

I had a delightful twilight photoshoot with the NestHouse last night - here’s a preview! I suppose it is a bit if a sneak peek of that well kept secret - the interior… I hope it looks inviting?!

See this image full size in the gallery.

image ©Jonathan Avery 2016 All rights reserved

#tinyhouse #nesthouse #tinyhousescotland #affordablehousing #sustainability

UK Eco Awards 2016 nomination - vote for me.

Posted on Posted in Architecture, sustainability, Tiny House

Apparently I have been nominated in the Eco Home Builder category of the Ecofest UK Eco Awards 2016 - so thank you to who ever did that! Now, how about voting for me!?

Sunday 10th July 2016 sees the first ECOFEST UK at the North East’s largest conference and entertainment venue, the Metro Radio Arena. The event forms part of the North East Vegan Festival’s expansion and will feature a huge zone of ecological ideas, products, services and companies, as well as talks on a variety of Eco topics.

VOTE FOR ME!

Please feel free to support Tiny House Scotland by casting a vote for me here or click the logo below:

Lloyd Kahn Talks Shelter in Kirkcaldy

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Cabins, Design, eco-friendly, Small House, sustainability, wood

I have been looking forward to this for a while and it was not a disappointment! Lloyd Kahn is in the back of many self-builders’ cerebral toolboxes for his seminal works as Editor in Chief of Shelter Publications, California. His 1973 book ‘Shelter‘ is an incredibly detailed catalogue of building techniques through the ages, illustrated with the personal stories and evocative photos of small houses and cabins collected on his travels throughout the USA and Canada as well as Ireland and the UK. It sits alongside my copy of Christopher Alexander’s ‘Pattern Language’ at the core of my own inspirational library, so it was a real thrill to hear Himself speak of his life publishing, building, surfing and skateboarding. Yes skateboarding! - in fact he only stopped skateboarding this year when he broke his arm…and let me just point out he is 81 - what a cool dude!!!

We started the evening with at a reception at the Kirkcaldy Galleries to see the exhibition ‘Shelters’ curated by Bobby Niven from the Bothy Project and instigated by Fife Contemporary Art & Craft. This fascinating touring exhibition features what turns out to be small selection of the vast body of work collected by Lloyd over the decades.

We then moved on to the Adam Smith Theatre for the main event of the night - Lloyd’s talk. It started with a thought-provoking introduction from Bernard Planterose about Lloyd, Self-Building, small Houses and the recent excellent progress of Reforesting Scotland’s Thousand Huts campaign. Bobby Niven then spoke in glowing terms about Lloyds impact on his own work before introducing Lloyd who spoke for over an hour with a superb selection of slides, anecdotes and pithy truisms.

It’s no wonder Lloyd is a legend…from his involvement in the Whole Earth Catalog - the American counter-culture’s magazine and eco-product catalogue published by Stewart Brand, Lloyd started building timber frame structures then turned to geodesic domes when these were the coolest thing in California and beyond! He subsequently wrote 2 bestselling books about domes but then when he realised that they really didn’t work, characteristically withdrew them from publication and went back to timber framing! As he said “admitting I was wrong was a major step forward in my life”.

We finished up with an enthusiastic Q and A and then after hearty applause wandered away into the gloaming of Kirkcaldy War Memorial Gardens with twinkling fairy lights in the blossom heavy cherry trees and more than just a sense that we had witnessed something truly special - an ongoing celebration of Lloyd Kahn’s fifty years being inspired by building with wood and natural materials and the complex art of creating simple shelter whilst inspiring generations of self builders to be creative themselves.

Lloyd Kahn talk
Lloyd Kahn talk

Tiny Home Sweet Home

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Design, eco-friendly, Houses, Small House, sustainability, Tiny House

The UN predicts that by 2060 66% of the world’s population will live in urban environments. One of the biggest challenges ahead of us is meeting housing requirements for this tribe of city dwellers. Space is limited and expensive so some home developers are thinking small. How does this help as we also consider the needs of those currently without a home?

Last night saw an audience of over 80 people at an Edinburgh International Science Festival discussion hosted by architecture author Jane Field-Lewis, to discuss the hot topic of Tiny Home Living.

Tiny House Scotland’s NestHouse prototype was featured in a presentation by Susan Carleton, a proponent of affordable small housing solutions, as the only moveable modular small eco-house currently being developed in Scotland!

Dr Mike Page from the University of Hertfordshire discussed the Cube Project - now on its second outing to the Science Festival, while Dr Caroline Brown of Heriot Watt University discussed the planning and social implications of small space living. The benefits of a small form factor for disaster relief housing was outlined by Julia Glenn of Extremis Technology. It was great to see the potential of serious small housing getting some attention in the UK!

Edinburgh International Science Festival
Edinburgh International Science Festival

Edinburgh Science Festival Tiny House Village

Posted on Posted in Architecture, news, Small House, sustainability, Tiny House
Tiny House Scotland featured at Edinburgh Science Festival year of Architecture and Innovation.
Tiny House Scotland featured at Edinburgh Science Festival year of Architecture and Innovation.

Although the NestHouse didn’t make it to be on display at Edinburgh Science Festival’s Tiny House Village at the Mound Precinct in Edinburgh; as detailed in the last post he is too heavy for the venue!

However as shown above we are featured on one of the information boards at the exhibition - I am so pleased! …Tiny House Scotland is effectively being displayed on a large advertising hoarding facing directly onto Princes Street for a couple of weeks!! WOOT WOOT!

I was in Town last night for another of @edscifest inspiring events in this year of Architecture and Innovation - listening to Alastair Parvin and Akiko Kobayashi speak about the Wikihouse project and Fountainbridge Canalside Initiative.

Legend Lloyd Kahn to talk in Fife

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Design, eco-friendly, Small House, sustainability

First UK presentation by Lloyd Kahn, Editor in Chief of Shelter Publications, California.
Championing the self-build approach since 1970, Kahn has inspired and empowered first-time housebuilders around the world.
Presented by Fife Contemporary Art & Craft with The Bothy Project & with participation of Reforesting Scotland’s A Thousand Huts Campaign.

The event will take place on Tuesday 10 May 2016 at 7.15pm in the Beveridge Suite, Adam Smith Theatre (Bennochy Road, Kirkcaldy, KY1 1ET). The venue is fully accessible with ramped access to the building and a lift to the Beveridge Suite itself. Tickets cost £10 (full price) and a limited number will be offered free for students & school pupils.

Further details here.

Lloyd Kahn talk
Lloyd Kahn talk

Mission Statement

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Nesthouse, news, Small House, sustainability

I know it’s a bit Nineties but I accidentally wrote my Mission Statement this morning!

Tiny House Scotland is my personal crusade to bring together the physics of building science with aesthetic design and individual craftsmanship to create a new alternative for sustainable living. Whether it is an affordable starter home or a lifestyle micro living choice or the venue for a home based business my NestHouse can provide a beautiful solution.

NestHouse Medium with Entry, Sleep and Bathe modules.
NestHouse Medium with Entry, Sleep and Bathe modules.

Scottish Parliament Thousand Huts Meeting

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Cabins, Design, eco-friendly, Huts, sustainability, Timber Frame, Tiny House, wood
A seminal moment in the Thousand Huts Campaign at the Scottish Parliament.
A seminal moment in the Thousand Huts Campaign at the Scottish Parliament.

Last night I attended the launch of the new huts planning guide at the Scottish Parliament with 80 planning professionals, architects and hut builders at an event hosted by Angus Macdonald MSP. Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead has welcomed the guide, saying:

“Huts and hutting are a great way for people to enjoy Scotland’s outstanding natural environment, with all the benefits to health and wellbeing this can bring. I very much welcome the publication of this guidance, which I hope will provide an important opportunity for many more people in Scotland to enjoy the recreational benefits associated with huts and hutting.”

The Thousand Huts campaign team and Planning Advisory Group have spent 2 years working with planning and building professionals to produce this guide to help planners, architects and hut builders alike achieve good practice in new hut developments. This work was supported by The Planning Exchange Foundation, and has been reviewed by planning, legal and tenancy professionals in the public and private sectors and at a local and national level. It is designed to help support the rolling out of Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) on huts.

It was a very inspiring evening which is set to change the future of planning laws for small buildings in Scotland.

The NestHouse from Tiny House Scotland
The NestHouse from Tiny House Scotland

#hutting #thousandhuts

 

Living small - living simply - living better

Posted on Posted in eco-friendly, Gardens, Houses, Small House, sustainability
Tiny House Scotland presents The NestHouse!
Tiny House Scotland presents The NestHouse!

Whether in a tiny house or a small house - Living Small also implies a degree of self sufficiency, but is this realistic - must we become Hippies from the 60’s to have a better lifestyle?!

You can simplify your life wherever you live - urban or rural; Lloyd Kahn the original small living guru wrote, rather comfortingly, in Shelter that

- self sufficiency is a direction, not an attainable goal. The idea is to do as much for yourself as possible - not ploughing your own fields with horses or growing your own wheat or making your own shoes but doing something within the context of your life: remodelling a house, creating a studio, building a table or bed, fitting in things like a productive garden or chickens or homemade bread, or lettuce and chives in pots on the window sill.

It’s a tightrope act, finding the right balance these days, between work for others and work for yourself, between creating things with your own hands and buying things from others. Just like finding a balance between sitting at a computer and physical activity.

Small is a path on a journey - houses evolve naturally - adapting to the needs of their occupants - this is ‘proper architecture’ in my opinion - see Stuart Brand’s fascinating book How Buildings Learn - if small facilitates young people achieving their first home then being able to add to it as needs and funds allow - means they means will have a healthy regard for their own property and not be pressurised by having to aspire to some unachievable mansion lifestyle which is not only un-affordable but unsustainable.

Windowcill herbs - an element of achievable self sufficiency
Window cill herbs - an element of achievable self sufficiency

2016 - what’s happening at Tiny House Scotland?

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Houses, Nesthouse, Small House, sustainability, Tiny House

What’s the state of play at Tiny House Scotland as we enter 2016? Well I’ve had a restful break over the Xmas period after building non-stop for the previous five months.

The NestHouse prototype is now fully finished externally - I finally got on to the lathe over Christmas and turned the roof finials (no, really, turning IS restful and meditative!!) so they are now in place on the roof - the last tick on that list!

So now I have to get my act together and crack on with the inside. The shell is complete and the interior spruce ply lining has already been cut and fitted, first fix electrics are all in place, the stairs to the sleeping loft are complete and the bathroom door is built. Now I just need to make the final decisions for the decoration of the panels - some will be natural and some will be painted.

After that it should be plain sailing to do the final fit-out. Well maybe not plain sailing; this is a prototype after all - so there are still a lot of decisions to be made, decisions which are fundamental to the ethos of the project. The electrics are 240 volt from an external 16amp pluggable supply but I will be adding a hybrid solar feed to this to allow off-grid use as well.

There is a wood stove to fit and a Jonathan Avery kitchen - the first in a while! In fact I think I will be building all the furniture for this NestHouse even though there will be very little actually built-in as I prefer a much freer and less caravan-like environment with freestanding, comfortable furniture - I have even designed a sofa so it looks as though I will be upholstering as well!

For those of you who have been following the project from the start, I hope to be able to unveil the finished NestHouse over the next few months, sorry but there will not be any photographs of the inside until it is sufficiently complete. There are orders for two more NestHouses in the pipeline… so it’s going to be a busy year!! Happy New Year to all!

Finials for the NestHouse at Tiny House Scotland
Finials for the NestHouse at Tiny House Scotland
The NestHouse from Tiny House Scotland
The NestHouse from Tiny House Scotland

The NestHouse Moveable Small House…actually moves!

Posted on Posted in Architecture, Cabins, Houses, Nesthouse, Small House, sustainability, Tiny House

Moveable Modular Small House System from Tiny House Scotland

Central to the NestHouse concept is the ability to actually move the house when desired….well I am pleased to say the prototype has passed its moveability trials with flying colours!! Time to get on with the external cladding and turn this weird looking UFO into a proper wooden house!

There’s still another 2 tons to add to the build - it’s currently 5 tons - so a bigger tractor may be required!