Mount Holyoke senior invites public to view her 'tiny house on wheels'

SOUTH HADLEY - Mount Holyoke College senior Sarah Hastings, one of five siblings who grew up in Braintree, is inviting you into her home this Friday and Saturday. Think small, and work in progress though. The open house invitation is for the 21-year-old's "tiny house on wheels" that Hastings designed for her senior thesis project as an architectural studies major. The 200-foot square house sits, behind the white garage, at the very back of the campus' Gorse parking lot on the right hand side of Morgan Street. It will be open for visitors on Friday, from 1 to 4 p.m., and Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hastings, who is looking for a permanent location for her home, calls the house "Rhizhome," a play on the word "rhizome," an underground plant stem. She was asked to explain what prompted the project, and her generation's interest in what has become known as the tiny, or small house, movement.

How much interest is there in your generation around the tiny house movement, and what interested you in doing your thesis on it?

The Tiny House Movement seems to interest people of all ages, but I've noticed that there is a particularly noticeable interest coming from recent college graduates, young couples, and retirees-to-be. I have always wanted to build my own home. I used to research land prices as a freshman, but it soon became obvious that I needed some more mobility in my 20s. I was serious about building my own tiny house as early as sophomore year and as I became more driven to construct, it turned into my intended thesis.

Would you take us through a mental walk through? What do you step into when we enter, and how does it flow from there? What is the square footage?

You cannot enter the house without noticing the gorgeous timber framed trusses above, which are made from 100-year-old reclaimed wood from a furniture factory in Gardner, and were crafted by Tom Musco, an expert timber framer and owner of Royalston Oak Custom Timber Frames. Step in through my retro sunburst door on the long side of the trailer and you will be facing a small kitchen. I have an antique Hoosier cabinet with a pull-out enamel top that is a great space-saving counter. To the right is the bathroom with a mini bathtub and a composting toilet. The bathroom doubles as a hallway to my gypsy bedroom! I have a set of storage steps that lead to my bed, which is perched on the gooseneck on my trailer. It's extremely airy and light in the bedroom with a huge window. Back to the left of the kitchen is a woodstove to heat the home in the winter and a cozy reading nook with a bench, bookshelves (not yet constructed), and beautiful antique window. Across from the Hoosier is a small carved elephant table and two other windows, which were all reused. In total, my house is just under 200 square feet. The interior is very light and airy.

What shaped your concept and design?

First, I knew I needed to incorporate some timber frame - I'm in love with traditional New England style, so some exposed beams were necessary. I shaped my design around my needs. I would never want to sleep in a crawlspace, so I designed my bedroom loft with much more vertical space than most tiny houses on wheels. I also wanted plenty of space to stretch and store books. From there, I worked with the constrains of my materials and my trailer. Windows and doors needed to be placed strategically, so many of my plans changed as I learned more about my wall structure. Some of my design elements were dependent on the fact that I really wanted all of my materials to be locally sourced or reused.

How do you access water, electricity, sewage? How about heat?

Water: I will have a hose input that connects to my Stiebel Eltron on-demand water heater. This supplies both the kitchen sink (doubles as a bathroom sink) and my shower/bath.

Electric: My house's electric is to residential code. I will have two solar panels, donated by Sunlight Solar Energy in Waltham. For now, I will plug my house up to an extension cord or to the grid, but the solar panels will supply most of my energy and can feed back to the grid if I have surplus. My house has a regular 100 amp service, which seems like a little much for such a small space - but it can attach up to a generator so I can get hook up to a variety of sources.

Sewage: I have designed a composting toilet which abides by the state regulations for composting toilets. As long as I use appropriate carbon material to cover my waste, it won't even smell! Eventually, after the composting process is complete and tested, my own waste will be rich, sanitary fertilizer.

Greywater: I use all biodegradable cleaning and bath products so that I can pipe my water out to a small graden that will filer out the suds.

Heat: A small woodstove

What salvaged materials went into it? Where did you find them, what was the hardest to find? Why did you want to do salvage?

There's A LOT of reused material that went into my home. All of my windows, my door, my floor ... I reached out to EcoBuilding Bargains in Springfield first. They were happy to be a sponsor. I also sourced much of my antique architectural salvage from another sponsor, New England Demolition & Salvage in New Bedford. Sometimes I would find random stuff in the woods or on the sidewalk by people's trash. I found a nice old medicine cabinet that way. I also did a TON of Craigslisting. It took me 60 hours over 6 months to find a suitable trailer on Craigslist.

I salvage for 3 main reasons: One, because houses and buildings are ALWAYS being gutted and there's plenty of valuable material that we can divert from landfills this way. Two, because each and every piece has a deep history and entertaining story to go along with it...salvage adds character. I am really into local and regional history.

It's been really hard finding a desk or the right dimensions. I'm looking to repurpose one into a mini kitchen counter for my sink and fridge.

When did you start and finish this project, and what did you learn from it?

I decided I wanted to build a tiny house in the summer of 2012. By the spring of 2013, it was looking like it would happen as my thesis. I bought my trailer in the winter of 2013-14 and began construction in the summer of 2014.

I have learned so much, not just about construction. I've learned valuable networking skills. I've learned that there is a lot of local knowledge that is there to be shared. I have learned how to balance a wide variety of tasks at once. It's been a lesson on resourcefulness, mostly.

How hard was it to add wheels, and how do you transport it?

The wheels were part of the foundation before the whole thing began. I built the house right to a trailer. The house is not removable from the wheels. I need to get a truck with a special hitch to move it and I will probably need to avoid a lot of tunnels and bridges.

Do you plan to permanently live in it? What would be a suitable local for it -- what are you hoping for?

I will live in it permanently when I graduate. I am searching for land right now, mostly in the Amherst/ Hadley/ NoHo area. Amherst's zoning laws seem most welcoming of alternative housing options like this, but regardless I will attain a special permit. I want to live on someone's extra land. Whether it be a part of a back or side yard or a piece of farmland is less important to me...although I'd LOVE to be close to animals and hiking trails! Access to the PVTA is also a must. I'll pay a small monthly rent, as well as do any kind of yard or housework in exchange for a spot.

How practical are these tiny homes? How do you see them as expanding housing options and for whom?

For some, they are ideal and provide a lot of freedom and opportunity. For others, it would cause a mental breakdown. For a certain subset of humans, tiny houses are the dream because they provide more financial freedom, which in turn frees up time. They also can align with environmental and spiritual values. I think that many people will find my tiny house surprisingly spacious and livable.

Tiny houses certainly have a growing market and it isn't just a fad. People of all ages dream of living small and as more people become concerned with the status of the environment and their own carbon footprint, tiny homes will continue to gain popularity. However, I don't think my home would be suitable for a family. There are people out there who raise kids in under 300 square feet, though. Coming from a family of 6, I know I wouldn't even think about being in that small of a space with preteens.

What are you planning to do career wise, and after college?

I plan to work, preferable with a part time job for an organization that values sustainable development. However, I have a wide variety of research interests and I'd love to continue working on interdisciplinary projects. Within the decade, I will definitely want to begin my doctorate in the History of Science or in something related to regional planning.... That is, unless I build my own business. The future is unknown, but I certainly will pave my own way. I might become a salvage consultant!
I will also hike the Appalachian Trail well within the next 5 years.

What course has most shaped your college experience?

Ah, I've had SO many deeply enriching courses at Mount Holyoke and at the other 4 colleges! (I've taken classes at all 5, as part of the Five College Consortium!)

In my first semester I took a geomorphology class with my advisor, Al Werner. I learned so much about Earth's processes...We waded through streams and got really dirty. I also had a really great experience in my Regenerative Design class for my first architecture class, where we designed a transfer station that went along with the landfill site in South Hadley. I've honestly loved all my courses (maybe minus one or two!).