A person’s home is a castle, no matter the size.
Students from St. Mary’s College of Maryland are working with high school students at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center to build two very small homes. One of the tiny houses will be placed on the St. Mary’s College campus — probably for a visiting fellow — and the other at Greenwell State Park for a displaced veteran.
“This is the convergence of a lot of different ideas,” said Barry Muchnick, an assistant professor of environmental studies.
Students enrolled in the Community Sustainable Design course led by Muchnick and Carrie Patterson, an art professor, will go to the Forrest center in Leonardtown one to three times a week to build the houses.
Tiny houses — cottage-style homes that often range from 80 to 400 square feet — are known for their energy-efficiency and price tag. The structures have gained popularity in recent years as an alternative to a traditional single-family home and as a way to gain independence.
They are often portable, built atop a trailer — as are the ones being built at the Forrest center.
The houses the students plan to build will be about 160 square feet — a little more for the house to be placed at the college when a sleeping loft is added, Muchnick said.
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company donated the plans for the houses. Muchnick said some tiny houses can sell for as little as $25,000, but because of the quality materials and design, the ones being built at the Forrest center would likely sell for $60,000 to $75,000, he said.
The model, called the Cypress, will be about 20 feet long and 7 1/2 feet wide, and each will have solar power, a composting toilet, sink, heating and cooling and other necessities of modern living.
Funding to support the project comes from a three-year grant received by the college in 2012 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The grant funds initiatives expanding civic-engagement and service-learning opportunities in the college’s core curriculum.
“The project is a direct result of that funding,” Patterson said.
The professors learned about a similar plan underway at the Forrest center, and were able to create a partnership, she said.
“Arts are in every part of our industry,” Patterson said, adding that the students in her class will help not just with the style and aesthetics of the houses, but also with the design functionality.
“It’s about bringing that creativity to address and solve some of our social issues and problems,” Muchnick said.
There will be about 26 college students during each of two semesters working on the project, along with a core group of about a dozen high school students. In addition, several dozen more students from the Forrest center will likely help out with the houses in smaller ways, Muchnick said.
The Greenwell Foundation, in its own partnership with Three Oaks Center, also joined the project, offering a location for one of the homes and a program to assist the veteran living there.
“The house will provide a place for displaced veterans to love, work and play,” Kaitlyn Fernald of the Greenwell Foundation said.
Materials for the foundation’s house were paid for through sponsorships and donations, she said.
The house will be placed at Greenwell State Park, where the veteran will live for an indeterminate amount of time. While living in the home, he or she will be able to enjoy the amenities of the park, which is located on the banks of the Patuxent River, and will be assigned a job based on his or her skill set, Fernald said.
As part of its Camp Host Homes program, the foundation plans to place a second tiny house at the park the following year to provide housing for a second veteran, she said.
“I’ve been interested in the tiny house movement for the last couple of years,” college senior Mandy Goodspeed said. She said she was looking forward to working on the project, especially because it will help provide housing to a veteran in need.
“It’s good to be involved in the community,” she said.
Forrest center student Cedric Mackall had never heard of a tiny house before. But the electric and wiring student said he is excited to put some of the skills he’s learned to a real-world use.
In recent years students from the Forrest center have participated in building several full-size homes through a building trades foundation.
Classmate Justin Quade said he had heard of tiny houses before, but “just thought they were a joke.”
Now that he’s found out about the project, he’s become interested in the phenomenon.
“It’s always great to be able to help somebody out who gave up their time and life to help others,” he said of the home that will provide housing for a veteran.