Tiny House Blog

I covered the ProtoHaus a couple of times in the past here on the Tiny House Blog. Ann Holley and Darren Macca have recently been featured in a neat video at 9News.com and I wanted to make sure you saw it.

“It’s like a sailboat on wheels,” Holley said.

A couple of years ago, tiny homes caught the attention of the couple. So, for about $25,000, they set out to build one.

“A lot of people think you couldn’t live this way,” Holley said.

They built the home with the help of family in Colorado. Then, when Holley went to graduate school out East, the couple drove the home out there and lived inside.

Protohaus caught the attention of folks on both commutes.

“They would follow us off the highway and they would be like, ‘How
many bedrooms are in there?’” Holley said.

Inside the home is a composting toilet; a stove; a faucet; outlets; even a sink with water. The home is fueled mostly on solar power and propane.

“Cleaning the house takes 20 minutes,” Holley said, laughing.

Read the complete story at the 9News website.

Ann Holley and Darren of Protohaus told me that they are in a new article by the New York Tiimes about college students and alternative living. Here is a brief introduction.

Tired of dorm life? Three students, striving to live off the grid, made different choices. At Appalachian State, a student lives in a teepee in the Blue Ridge Mountains; another built a geodesic dome on campus at Juniata College, in central Pennsylvania; and as a class project, a graduate student has built a miniature house and rolled it onto Alfred University, in upstate New York.

Go read Education: Alternative Living

Photos and Intro from the New York Times.

Ann Holley from ProtoHaus wrote that she will be giving a lecture on the ProtoHaus project Friday November 13 at Alfred University. The lecture is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Science Center (building 13 on the map).

Ann will begin at 12:20 and the event will be over at 1:10. There will be an open house right after the lecture. If you are in the area and would like to come Ann would be happy to see you there! The address is: Alfred University · 1 Saxon Drive · Alfred, NY. You can find a campus map at http://www.alfred.edu/map/

I am really excited, today Ann Holley emailed and sent me updated pictures of the ProtoHaus in its new location and a picture of the finished interior (last picture below).

This is one of my favorite designs for a tiny house on wheels and I will let you in on some news. A plan for this home will be available in the not to distant future. I will let you know here on the Tiny House Blog, the plans will be available in the Plans Page above.

You can see the previous post on the construction of the ProtoHause here.

Okay here is the update from Ann:

Hello Tiny House Blog Readers!

ProtoHaus has arrived in Alfred, New York! We have set up on Alfred University’s campus next to the Environmental House and we are settling in nicely.

ProtoHaus is part of Ann’s graduate studies in the Sculpture and Dimensional Studies program. So far we have had lots of positive response. Neighbors, including permanent town residence as well as students, have been curious and friendly embracing us warmly.

This is all very exciting and encouraging since a big part of the project is about sharing what we are doing with the community. It looks like Ann will be holding a seminar on a Friday in November and we will be in touch to announce the date as it approaches.

Also, we plan to have an open house in the near future (date to be determined). We welcome visitors and questions. Please visit our website www.protohaus.moonfruit.com if you want to know more.

Ann Holley

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed

The ProtoHaus is coming along really well. We put together our solar system and it works! We are hoping to install our appliances this week and prepare to paint the interior.

I thought you might like this photo of a crop duster flying low over the top of our ProtoHaus. We are sleeping in my parents renovated barn while we are building. Often we are awoken in the morning by a crop duster flying near overhead. They go back and forth for about 45 minutes while dusting near by fields. What they are doing isn’t the best but it is really neat to see them up close.

Ann sent this picture to me a couple of weeks ago and will be sending some pictures of the interior as they finish the house. They have moved on to New York from Colorado for an educational stint there. Stay tuned for an update, you can view the previous post here.

Photo Credit: Ann Holley

Copyright © 2009 Tiny House Blog

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed

Ann Holley and her husband to be (Darren Macca) with her parents (Steve and Miriam Holley) are building a tiny house called the ProtoHaus in Colorado. The tiny house is part of Ann’s graduate work at Alfred University where Ann is earning her Masters in Fine Art. Lots of friends have come to help build the tiny house.

Here is an outline of Ann’s request and an overview of her project, I really like the design with the dormers:

The ProtoHaus is a timber frame or “stick built” house that will be constructed over the summer of 2009. Emphasis will be placed on sustainability, functionality, and aesthetics. It will be fabricated primarily from recycled and reclaimed materials. The building process will be overseen and assisted by S. C. Holley Construction.

It will be transportable. The house will be built on a trailer bed rated to withstand 14,000 pounds though the final structure should not exceed 9,000 pounds. Separate fresh, grey, and black water systems will be integrated into the design allowing for remote removal and disposal of waste.

A solar and wind system will power the house allowing it to be off grid. There will be a series of collaborative workshops at Alfred University which will include students, faculty and different departments to accompany the project. The house will be open to visitors on particular dates throughout the school year as a mode of sharing the experiment with the Alfred community.

You can view more pictures at Ann’s website. The tiny house has made a few design transitions sense the original floor plans and renderings were drawn up.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed