Tiny House 1.0
2020
In 2020 WCA launched a series of free construction training programmes for economically inactive and underemployed people in West Dorset to develop carpentry and construction skills. Over two week-long courses we hosted 14 participants at a workshop in the Crutchley Estate near Eggardon to learn building skills in the construction of a tiny home. Carpenter and furniture maker Karen Hansen, who is local to the estate’s diverse collective of makers, led these workshops.
These courses in sustainable construction were part of the R A I S E T H E R O O F, project’s larger initiative around prototyping designs and testing local supply chains as well as upskilling the local community in ecological home building
Following the success of these courses, the Raise the Roof project aimed to show how the economy of a typical small town can be transformed through linking the primary production of key sustainable resources (timber and “woody fibres”- flax and hemp), the development of new processing and fabrication infrastructure and the design and prototyping of ecological and affordable housing.
The project addresses three interlocking crises – the lack of affordable housing, the lack of training and decent jobs, and the unsustainable nature of present production and consumption. The aim is to achieve a fair transition to an ecological and equitable local economy, and develop a model that can be adopted widely – based on the creation of key community-led assets and networks.
On a practical level, participants came away with new skills for sustainable construction including:
– Using hand tools safely and working as a team.
– Basic building design and understanding the advantages of different layouts
– An introduction to timber growing and selection for construction uses
– Building a simple stud frame for a building approx 2.55m x 5m
– Building a roof
– Cladding and insulating the walls
– Installing windows and doors
Explore other Raise the Roof construction projects:
Prototype of a Row House
2022
The Denhay Prototype is a physical demonstration and study of locally sourced materials and off-site construction techniques in collaboration with University of Plymouth and Bridport Area Community Housing (BACH.)
Tiny House Build 2.0
2020
Tiny House Build 2.0 is a part-training part-research project that introduces digitally fabricated elements through a necessary rebuild of an earlier tiny home to fit road-safety laws and end-use requirements.
Research & Reports:
Final Report: Raise the Roof
Hemp & Flax Field Trials FiPL Project Report
A Bioregional Approach to Building in the South West
Propositions for Bridport
Background Research on Housing in Bridport
The Terrestrial Town
Related Projects:
RAISE THE ROOF was a partnership between Common Ground, Turner-prize winning design collective Assemble, community-development organisation Wessex Community Assets, the Dorset Arts Development Company, Bridport Area Community Housing, Plymouth University and Bridport Town Council. Funding has been secured from the Nationwide Foundation, Friends Provident Foundation, the Arts Council and the Connected Everything programme.