Tiny homes, big solution

Since founding KU’s Studio 804 architecture program more than 25 years ago, Dan Rockhill has hoped that one day he and his students could work with the Lawrence Community Shelter. With the onset of the pandemic, Rockhill saw an opportunity to support the shelter’s homeless clients in a meaningful way.

“Their living conditions, even before COVID, were a problem,” says Rockhill, J.L. Constant Distinguished Professor of Architecture, describing the shelter’s open, dormitory-style environment, packed with rows of bunk beds. “When the virus came, they realized that being able to isolate people was a whole other issue, and that resulted in their having to turn many potential guests away.”

Rockhill approached the shelter about constructing and donating 12 tiny homes, which could not only help separate residents to prevent illness but also provide private, temporary housing for families for years to come. Thanks to the sale of houses from previous Studio 804 projects, Rockhill had the funds to donate design services, materials and labor for the completed containers, while the shelter provided the infrastructure, such as water, sewer and electricity.

Once news of Studio 804’s tiny home project leaked, Rockhill says offers to donate construction materials, including the steel shipping containers; electrical, HVAC and plumbing services; and other building necessities quickly rolled in. “I think it was an interesting comment on the community, because we’re all in this together,” he says. “To see the local industries do what they could to help was gratifying.”