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Abstract
Informed by a recent interest in authentic living that has its origins in 19th century transcendentalism, the Tiny House Movement assumes that by reducing the spatial footprint of a home, one also reduces the carbon footprint and increases affordability. However, tiny homes present a number of problems in practice from the personal (privacy and accessibility issues) to the public (zoning violations, as well as cost-prohibitive barriers to entry for low-income earners). Using Christopher Alexanders pattern language as a conceptual framework, this study aims to address the gap between theory and practice of the Tiny House Movement by proposing a new design that integrates the most salient characteristics of a tiny house into a small, traditionally-constructed house. Focusing on interior spaces, the goal is to create a prototype that preserves the ideals of the Tiny House Movement, but is more accessible to low-income earners within the researchers local community.