Students in the Renewable Energy and Ecological Design (REED) program at Vermont’s Green Mountain College just made us all look lazy by designing and building a tiny home that’s part wooden chestnut and part stained-glass cathedral:
Pretty spiffy, right? Treehugger explains:
Designed and constructed by sixteen students, the OTIS (which stands for Optimal Traveling Independent Space) is an aerodynamic, pod-shaped design, made to be towed on a standard 5 by 8 foot trailer and a four-cylinder vehicle. It has its own rainwater collection system that feeds into the indoor plumbing, in addition to the 120-watt solar panel system to provide electricity. To handle human waste, the OTIS uses a composting toilet.
Their professor, Lucas Brown, says today’s students aren’t into suburbia and mortgages as much as other generations, which makes a tiny, portable home more desirable. “You’re not tied down to a piece of land to be stuck somewhere,” one student explains. “You can really go anywhere and do anything.” (Ah, to be 22 again!) Check it out:
Nicely done, Green Mountain College. You crazy kids are giving us hope for the future!
