BIG Ideas for Little Houses

In support of the Dayton Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), our next Meetup is scheduled for next Thursday, March 14 at the Northwest Library branch.

Please come early (or stay later) to give these small house designs the attention they deserve! Created by more than 40 area secondary school students, you will find different ideas including floor plans, descriptions, 3D models for houses from 1 to 4 people. Each house was also placed within a potential neighborhood with 30 other small houses together with community resources: common kitchens, parking areas sports courts, central gardens, even a day care center and a Zen/Yoga retreat. There are round houses, many single story and 2 and 3 level houses with "green" decks, solar arrays, shipping containers, one based on hammocks, some built with bricks, others for Veterans and shared student living, another fashioned like a 1-room Schoolhouse, and of course - MORE.

The Opportunity Room is directly in front of the Entrance and is open during regular Library hours, so stop in anytime before next Thursday and Saturday. As always, children are Welcome and as they have unfiltered opinions can help you decide, they just really like these small models!

There is a ballot box for you to VOTE for your favorite over-all small house and neighborhood. Please initial your anonymous ballot with DSH (for Dayton Small House, so I can gauge reaction to these mailings). The Winners will be announced at a special ceremony on Saturday the 16 in the Community Room at Northwest, so please make plans to attend both.

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During our actual Meetup, we'll discuss in more detail our plans for a real small house area in Dayton.

I will have several maps showing where we have an exclusive opportunity to purchase land as mentioned in the last Member e-mail. (You can also find it with greater detail under MORE and then click Message Boards and then the AIA link on the MU site).

So far, the potential Land request list is filling up quickly for our Owners Cooperative. Lot of interest in this idea from folks all around. Some from parents of students who want an alternative to dormitory rooms (which Sinclair does not offer); others from retired couples who want to downsize without going to a Senior Extended Care Center; many renters who want to avoid future rent hikes and would rather own; even people who have a larger house out-of-town but want to "vacation" here on weekends to take in Dragon's games, try out the many brew/wine pubs, hear music at the Levit Pavilion, or take in plays like Hamilton at the "Vic" and Shuster Center.

As these spots fill up, we'll form a secondary list and use that to secure other property in different areas such as vacant school land being auctioned by the Board of Education (acres and acres of potential small house development)!

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Hope to see many of you regular attendees next Thursday. Come early or stay after to see the Design Contest. The Meetup starts at 5:30. Please VOTE for your favorite Small and Really Tiny House. You just might see many of them built in a special neighborhood, soon!