Right now, SCAD Atlanta students and faculty are sleeping in the parking lot of the Atlanta campus’s main building. No, it’s not a dorm crisis or a protest, but an experiment in small living spaces. Each detail of three 135-square-foot “SCADpads” was designed by students, professors, and alums, whose work includes toilets made using 3-D printers, portable fire features, and detailed architectural planning to fit an efficient and compact home into an area the size of a standard parking space.
The tiny homes are intended to explore ways to develop housing in underused parking decks in high-density urban centers: SCAD’s Midtown garage could hold up to 400 of the miniature dwellings. The designs also could serve as future models for emergency and low-cost housing.
Installed in SCAD’s Midtown parking garage in April, the SCADpads include communal open areas that feature a community garden and composting center. Textiles and fibers were used to soften the industrial surfaces and provide built-in artwork. The modular wall system includes integrated storage components.
Stay tuned: Our deputy editor Rebecca Burns will stay in a SCADpad this weekend. Check the Daily Agenda blog next week for her experience in the experiment.
This article originally appeared in our June 2014 issue under the headline “Downsizing.”
