Engineering & Architecture

Tiny House

Research tiny homes, invent a client, and design a tiny house that fits that one person. You will draw a scaled floor plan, then pick two more ways to show off the design — a model, an elevation, an interior design board, a landscape plan, and more.

A student tiny house floor plan, 24 by 27 feet, with dark walls, a bathroom, kitchen, island, stairs and dimension strings around the outside
A floor plan from a previous year: 24 ft × 27 ft = 648 sq ft, just under the limit. Drawn at 3/8″ = 1′-0″ with dark walls and a title block along the bottom. Yours will look different — it is designed for a different client.

The one rule

Maximum size
650 sq ft

Bigger than this and it is not a tiny house. Check your square footage before you draw the final floor plan, not after.

Required — everyone does these four

Do them in this order. Each one feeds the next.

Required 1

Research

Real tiny homes that fit the size limit. Cost, size, materials, how they are built, sustainable and luxury options, and the different types.

Required 2

Client Profile

Who you are designing for. Their interests, needs and preferred style. Use a ready-made client or make your own.

Required 3

Brainstorming & Sketching

Bubble diagrams and quick floor plan sketches. Lots of ideas, fast, all labeled.

Required 4

Floor Plan

Drawn to scale with a ruler. Correct wall thickness, symbols and dimensions. A title block.

Then pick two more

Choose the two that interest you most. How to do each one is on the guidance page.

Option

Exterior Elevation

A straight-on view of the outside, to scale, with textures and major dimensions.

 Option

Interior Design Plan

One interior elevation plus samples — paint, wallpaper, textures, furniture.

 Option

Landscape Design Plan

The yard from above, to scale, in color, with plant and paving types.

 Option

Cost Analysis Plan

What your tiny house would actually cost to build, organized and sourced.

 Option

Tiny House Community Plan

A plot with several tiny houses, pathways, gardens and shared amenities.

 Option

Mixed Material Model

A foam board model built at the same scale as your floor plan.

 Option

Bergen County Community Impact

Find a real place in Bergen County for a tiny home community. Who lives there, and what would it cost?

 Option

Custom Idea

Have another way to show your design? Talk to Mr. Hubbard first.

You will not know how to make some of these yet. That is the point. This project is about teaching yourself. Mr. Hubbard will give you resources and some lessons along the way, but you cannot just jump in. Research, find resources, practice — then produce.

Make it yours. If you have an interest or a passion — music, skating, gardening, gaming, cooking — work it into your client and your design in a real way.

Dates

Research dueTBA
Client profile dueTBA
Sketches dueTBA
Floor plan dueTBA
Pick-two products dueTBA
PresentationsTBA

Past work from this class

Tiny houses designed by THS students in previous years.

A pencil floor plan sketch with rooms labeled and bubbles marking the living, dining and entry zones
A brainstorm sketch. Rooms labeled, bubbles for the open zones, a porch for a client who wanted to sit outside.
A white foam board tiny house model with a gable roof, a printed wood siding band and a large clear window
A mixed material model: foam board, a printed wood-siding band, and clear plastic for the big window.
A foam board tiny house model seen from above with no roof, showing interior walls and window openings
A different model with the roof off, so you can see the interior walls match the floor plan.

Building a model? You will be using a hobby knife. Read the shop safety page and the machine quizzes page before you cut anything.