Tiny Big House

Seasonally Dynamic Dwelling, Ithaca, NY 2016-7

Tiny Big House is a 400 sq.ft. house that slides open to become a 1600 sq.ft. patio house in the summer time. Taking literally notions of pin-wheel dynamism and hearth as center, from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House, Tiny Big House expands and contracts seasonally: in winter, two living rooms dilate around the hearth; in summer, the two seating areas move along tracks to frame new outdoor courtyards. The house’s form is a result of the cantilever necessitated by the vacating blocks. The hanging hearth reinforces the cantilever. Tiny Big House is currently in bidding/cost-estimate phase, and scheduled for construction in summer 2017.