Northwestern 'Tiny House' Aims To Teach About Sustainability
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- There is plenty of room to stretch out, insist the designers of the 128 square-foot Tiny House now on display on the Northwestern University campus.
As WBBM Newsradio's John Cody reports, the Tiny House is now on view at at Sheridan Road and Noyes Street in Evanston. Co-designer William Fan says the house is 8 feet wide, 16 feet long, and a lot bigger than it sounds at 128 square feet.
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"We actually have a couch inside called the Flexible Love, that extends from anywhere from one person to eight people, to match whatever needs you have for it," Fan said.
Fan says at 4 feet by 4 1/2 feet. The bathroom has a shower and compost toilet. Everything is designed for one person, with an occasional visitor needs.
The Tiny House was designed by students and young alumni from Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science It is designed to have zero net energy, and aims to teach people about the virtues of sustainability and simple living, Northwestern said.
"We're not asking everyone to move into houses this size," Tiny House team member Alejandro Sklar said in a news release. "Instead, we want to demonstrate what can be done with such a small space and teach people to utilize every inch they inhabit, whether that be a garden they harvest food from and use gray water to sustain or a loft they turn into a wind tunnel to ventilate a home."
