The Daily Circuit

A look at the tiny house movement

10:15 AM, February 15, 2013
11:06 AM, May 10, 2013

LISTEN

Could you live in a home that is less than 1,000 square feet? What about 100 square feet? On The Daily Circuit, we explore a growing movement to get back to the times when we didn't need much except shelter, food and few material possessions. It's called the small house movement, and it's changing the way some people look at their lives architecturally, socially and environmentally.

Geoffrey Warner, principal architect and weeHouse founder, joins The Daily Circuit to talk about the art of building tiny houses. Warner's weeHouse work is through Alchemy Architects, a St. Paul architecture and design firm that specializes in wee houses built with sustainable practices and materials.

From The Line:

While the number of people interested in contemporary prefab structures for homes and businesses has certainly grown over the last decade, Warner believes it's still too early to say that the idea has taken off. Leading the pack of hurdles that need to be overcome, he says, is that Americans just aren't used to this type of prefab housing. "Buy a prefab house now and you're still considered an 'early adopter,'" says Gabler, invoking a term that can stand for either prescience or faddishness.

Thomas Fisher, professor of architecture and the dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, also joins the discussion.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TINY HOUSES:

Photos: 10 tiny houses we love (Dwell)

Photos: weeHouses

The weeHouse comes to Linden Hills (MPR News)

A big version of a 'weeHouse' (Wall Street Journal)

comments powered by Disqus
Listen Now

MPR News Radio

Hourly Newscast

The Daily Circuit Blog

Economy, Business & Jobs:

Op-ed pick: The Senate’s guest worker program will provide a flexible workforce

"The size of the guest-worker program is designed to adjust automatically in response to changing U.S. labor needs, growing in good years when the economy needs more foreign workers and shrinking when more Americans are out of work."

News & Trends:

3 things to buy at the farmers market this weekend

After we taped the Friday Roundtable, I asked the panelists what we should pick up at the farmer’s market this weekend. Stephanie Meyer recommends morels. Amy Thielen says to buy dandelion greens if you can find them. Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl’s a fan of rhubarb: Here’s what you can do with rhubarb. I like to cook…