Affordable Housing- Make It Modular Contest

Hi My name is Mateo Cordell I recently graduated from East Meck HS in Charlotte, NC. Affordable housing is a big problem in Charlotte with housing and rent prices increasing by 94% over the past five years. I wanted to make an affordable housing plan for people and families who are unable to afford apartments or houses. In Charlotte homeless people live in a community referred to as tent city. They have created their own community. I have dropped of food there several times and have noticed that they have leaders, and enjoy spending time together. I thought it would be nice to continue that idea of people still living in a community but in safer more hospitable spaces. I would have this community near public transportation as well as ideally be walkable to grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. The city will occasionally disperse this community and it eventually recreates itself again. The city instead could fund a project like this for a more permanent and helpful solution.

The supplies I used were:

• Tihkercad for online concept
• paper and pencil for floor plan
• cardboard
• tape
• glue
• scissors
• ruler

To begin the project I created a floor plan which is 20 ft x 16ft. I originally wanted to have two bedrooms but I soon realized that the space was too small so I went with one bedroom, but with two twin beds. There is a large closet for storage, and a small full bath. The floor plan was difficult with the constraints of a small space but I like to open floor plan design which fits the limited space.

I decided to change my design during the process and rotate each apartment, which makes the design more visually interesting. I decided to leave the doors of the shipping containers open on multiple levels which creates the idea that they are open, but this would be a large glass window. I also cut out irregular windows for design interest. The stairs up to each floor are located in the back built into the wall. I would love to have the residents pick their own paint colors and would like to have local artists or the residents themselves paint murals on their houses. I have always enjoyed origami and wanted the challenge of making an architectural model which I have never done before. I built the model with cardboard, glue and tape. I wanted to keep it simple so the design concept stood out.

To achieve the goal of a community, multiple houses need to be built. I envision around eight to ten tiny houses. I envision it centered around a Basketball/ Soccer court and a community Garden to bring the community and generations together.