McInturf then became interim director of the department, and the project went on hold that fall. He approached DAAP adjunct assistant professor Whitney Hamaker, DAAP ’06, M (DAAP) ’08, to take over for spring 2016. It was Hamaker’s first graduate studio as a professor. He was joined by nine grad students he describes as being highly motivated — two of which came from the summer 2015 studio — who set a lofty goal of constructing the shelter and delivering a finished product in one semester.

“It’s an insane time commitment to do something like this in the short amount of time that we had to do it,” says student Marissa Zane, DAAP ’13, who returned to the project that spring after taking the summer studio.

The group went back to the drawing board, spending five weeks on redesign. That left just 10 weeks in the semester for actual building. Between the 75-mile drive to the preserve and the fact that Ohio’s winter weather typically carries on into March and April, it was not feasible to construct solely on site. Hamaker secured a space near campus to store and work on the container, and the students completed much of the framing, construction, plumbing and electric work there over the next eight weeks.

Finally, with the end of semester on the horizon, the group traveled out to Kamama, following the tiny house as it made its way on a flatbed truck. Seeing the house moved out to the site was a major moment for them.

“It kind of hits you that you actually built something that’s going to be there for years to come, and it fits within the nice peacefulness of the prairie,” says student Alex Gormley, DAAP ’13. “It’s kind of a poetic moment.”

After the class worked a few weeks into the summer making finishing touches, Cassel “moved in” this past June. She maintains a home in Dayton, but is able to make extended stays on the prairie now. Hamaker hopes students in a fall seminar will be able to complete an additional roof structure with integrated solar that was designed, which will shade the deck and house.

In Cassel’s case, a tiny house was perfectly suited to her needs, especially when it comes to having a low impact on its surroundings. “The prairie is what people go there for,” says Hamaker. “It’s a beautiful landscape already. We wanted what we built to fit with the landscape and, in a sense, be present but minimal, respect the landscape and have an understanding with the vernacular that existed there.” But tiny houses are something of a fad right now.

The movement is apparent in photos and how-tos all over Pinterest, TV shows like FYI’s Tiny House Nation and HGTV’s Tiny House Hunters and public projects like Brad Cooper’s (DAAP ’09) Start Small Homes project, which sets out to create tiny homes in Over-the-Rhine.

“It’s cool [tiny houses] are catching on and people are learning you don’t really need as much space as you think you need,” says student Dylan Holte, who also participated in the previous summer studio.

Cassel’s idea for a tiny house came more out of necessity than following the mainstream architectural trend du jour. But make no mistake, it is tiny — at 160 square feet, the space is equipped with electricity, heating/cooling, a fully functioning bathroom with a shower, a washer, kitchen and bed. The house tour takes about 20 seconds. An elevated deck that surrounds the home provides ample gathering space outside. Patio furniture doubles as an office where Cassel can grade papers and plan lessons under the setting sun. She’d rather be outside in nature, anyway.

“The class understood that the focus is the prairie and preserving that land, and the way they designed the structure out there, there’s very little impact on the prairie,” Cassel says. “It’s not about the tiny house, it’s about how it blends in with the prairie — like the deck, it extends out into the field. That’s also something I love about it and something that’s important that they understood.” On contract to spend five months a year on site, Cassel will now be able to oversee Kamama year-round.

It’s fitting that the house was ready at the start of summer, when brown grass and bare trees give way to the prairie’s most colorful inhabitants. As she settles into her new home, dozens of butterflies will descend upon the area as the prairie lives up to its name — “kamama” is Cherokee for “butterfly.” In 2012, a previously unknown species of moth was discovered there.

Cassel is responsible for the home’s expenses, which are offset by the donated materials and labor and a crowdfunding site set up through UC Research Institute. And even after her days as a land steward are over, the house will remain on site for her successor. She recognizes that her connections to UC helped make this project possible and, even after graduation, they continue to grow.

“It’s a really important relationship that goes on through life,” Cassel says.

Likewise, this studio experience will likely leave a lasting impression on the nine students who designed and constructed the major project in just four months.

“I don’t think the goal of a design-build program is to turn architecture students into contractors,” Hamaker says, “but I think it is important for them to understand that relationship — the difference between what we put out into the world and what has to happen to make it exist, and to understand what that conversation is.”

Zane is reaping the benefits of this already as she works on co-op in New York.

“I went out to a job site last week and I actually understood what they were doing,” she explains, “unlike if you’re at an office job and you see things here or there. It may take years for you to understand something that you learn in just a couple months by putting something together.”

LINKS:

Learn more about Kamama Prairie and its new tiny house.

Read about other UC connections in the tiny house movement.