Community First! Village

Throughout my summer internship at Gensler, the interns were allowed to complete a service based project for a local nonprofit organization.  We were able to work closely with Community First! Village.  Community First! Village is a 27-acre master planned community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for the disabled, chronically homeless in Central Texas.  After meeting with members of CF!V, we decided to focus our project around

building a tiny home for the ADA compliant members of the community.  The tiny home is a total of 191 sq feet and encompasses a bed, living area, kitchenette and closet.  All areas of the house maintain the standard 60″ clearance, allowing individuals with wheelchairs to maneuver within the space seamlessly.  The project was completed by four interns, including myself.  My contribution to the project are the renderings and assisting with the presentation.

Three aspects of the home drove the development of the design: tiny home requirements, ADA compliance, and passive strategies for light and air circulation.

After a mid-summer presentation, members of Community First! Village expressed interest in implementing our design into phase two of their construction renovations.  We then started creating technical drawings of the exterior and interior for their use.