2020 Tiny House Design Challenge
Kealakehe High School (KHS) students enjoying their field trip.
Tiny House Design Challenge is a yearly competition for local high schools to design and build a tiny house. Unfortunately due to Covid-19, the judging portion of this year’s event was cancelled, as the schools were closed for on-site work and our special usage permit to hold the judging on the State Capitol Lawn was cancelled. However, the students were still able to benefit from the experience of planning, designing and building their models (either architectural scale or half-size). The students were encouraged to keep working on the projects, but the houses will not be displayed this year.
The teams vying for this year’s prize were well on their way to completing their designs and models when the competition was halted. The onsite judging and house display were scheduled for May 3rd, and some students were planning to fly from the Big Island to Oahu to present their architectural models in front of the judges. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions students were locked out of their STEM rooms and access to their models and the servers with their CAD drawings.
The design brief (story) in this year’s challenge called for the design of a tiny house for twin sisters in their junior year of college who want to move out of their parents’ house in Hawaii. Their maximum budget is $100,000 for a fully-furnished, move-in ready home. Ideally they are seeking an environmentally friendly lifestyle with the goal of an overall net-zero carbon footprint.
KHS TinyHouse site model
How it Worked
SSFM’s role was represented by Clarice Masaki and Amy Salvador as the organizers of the competition. Clarice and Amy worked with the teachers to establish the rules and help the teams get started. With interest from a neighbor-island school, we created a category that enabled them to participate. We coordinated with other Architecture and Engineering firms to assist the teams and selected a team of judges for onsite constructed models. We had also secured a permit to display the houses at the State Capitol for a week.
The students were able to present their work in progress and enjoy reviews just before the shutdown. At Kealakehe HS, a half dozen local architects viewed and critiqued the presentations. It was an interesting and exciting project and experience for the students even though they were not able to see their designs through to fruition. Waipahu High School teacher Tessie Ford shared, “One thing that they do like about the project is that it taught them about the environment of working and collaborating as a group of engineers to create a project with the same end goal. They will definitely remember the experience and I’m sure what they learned will help them in their future.”
We encourage schools to reach out to professionals in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industry to support their projects. Many industry professionals want to support students and projects like the Tiny House Design Challenge. We are very impressed with their work and the level of enthusiasm they put into this project, and we are all looking forward to next year’s Tiny House Design Challenge!
KHS students created Tiny House site models to begin their designs.
A visit to the Tiny House site by the KHS students.
Students presented their Tiny House designs to AE professionals for feedback
Students enjoyed working with teams and receiving mentorship from AE professionals.
2020 Tiny House Design Challenge
Kealakehe High School (KHS) students enjoying their field trip.
Tiny House Design Challenge is a yearly competition for local high schools to design and build a tiny house. Unfortunately due to Covid-19, the judging portion of this year’s event was cancelled, as the schools were closed for on-site work and our special usage permit to hold the judging on the State Capitol Lawn was cancelled. However, the students were still able to benefit from the experience of planning, designing and building their models (either architectural scale or half-size). The students were encouraged to keep working on the projects, but the houses will not be displayed this year.
The teams vying for this year’s prize were well on their way to completing their designs and models when the competition was halted. The onsite judging and house display were scheduled for May 3rd, and some students were planning to fly from the Big Island to Oahu to present their architectural models in front of the judges. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions students were locked out of their STEM rooms and access to their models and the servers with their CAD drawings.
The design brief (story) in this year’s challenge called for the design of a tiny house for twin sisters in their junior year of college who want to move out of their parents’ house in Hawaii. Their maximum budget is $100,000 for a fully-furnished, move-in ready home. Ideally they are seeking an environmentally friendly lifestyle with the goal of an overall net-zero carbon footprint.
KHS students created Tiny House site models to begin their designs.
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How it Worked
SSFM’s role was represented by Clarice Masaki and Amy Salvador as the organizers of the competition. Clarice and Amy worked with the teachers to establish the rules and help the teams get started. With interest from a neighbor-island school, we created a category that enabled them to participate. We coordinated with other Architecture and Engineering firms to assist the teams and selected a team of judges for onsite constructed models. We had also secured a permit to display the houses at the State Capitol for a week.
The students were able to present their work in progress and enjoy reviews just before the shutdown. At Kealakehe HS, a half dozen local architects viewed and critiqued the presentations. It was an interesting and exciting project and experience for the students even though they were not able to see their designs through to fruition. Waipahu High School teacher Tessie Ford shared, “One thing that they do like about the project is that it taught them about the environment of working and collaborating as a group of engineers to create a project with the same end goal. They will definitely remember the experience and I’m sure what they learned will help them in their future.”
We encourage schools to reach out to professionals in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industry to support their projects. Many industry professionals want to support students and projects like the Tiny House Design Challenge. We are very impressed with their work and the level of enthusiasm they put into this project, and we are all looking forward to next year’s Tiny House Design Challenge!
KHS Tiny House Models paved the way for a larger design.
A visit to the Tiny House site by the KHS students.
Students presented their Tiny House designs to AE professionals for feedback.
Students enjoyed working with teams and receiving mentorship from AE professionals.
Category:
Education