School’s tiny house project grows into community effort
The mustard seed, with a little water and sunlight, can grow from one of nature’s smallest seeds into a mighty tree. So the parable goes.
It’s an illustration of how a tiny bit of faith can grow into something larger than initially could be imagined.
Such was the humble spark of an idea for Odyssey Leadership Academy’s “tiny house,” which is up for auction through May 3.
Fertile ground
For Sarah Horton and the academy, where her daughter attends high school, the tiny house journey began last spring when the two words “tiny house” unexpectedly popped into Horton’s head and an idea began to take root.
Each year, Odyssey Leadership Academy tailors its learning experiences to a particular theme. This year it is “Redeeming the Home.” The concept of a tiny home was a good fit, she thought, and building one would provide any number of learning opportunities for students at the school.
“A tiny house fits into that overall theme,” she said. “What makes a home? What’s a need versus a want?”
The next step was to run her idea past Brennan
Will, the math instructor at Odyssey Leadership Academy.
“I had lunch with Mr. Will and asked: What if we work together and build a tiny house that could become part of his class that he was teaching?” Horton said. “He loves wood, so he was just super excited.”
Real-time learning
Horton and her husband, Scott, worked with the school to settle on a Tudor design for the house, with dormers, decorative half-timbering, a rounded front door and a swooping gable. Its dimensions would be 22 feet long, 8.5 feet wide and 13.5 feet tall to allow it to be towed without a permit. It won’t require a tag, either, she said.
While students started figuring angles and pitch ratios early last fall, Horton went to work on securing donations. Prototek, a membershipbased public workshop at 401 NW 10, provided tools and a location to begin work on the house.
It was a community effort from the start, she said. Individuals and companies donated materials and more, often contributing labor and teaching time as well. Total donations of materials and labor have reached in excess of $50,000.
Patrick Cuddeback, a general contractor with Turner & Son Homes and long-time friend of the Hortons, signed on as a volunteer overseer, dropping by three to five days a week to check work that had been done and to answer questions.
The hardest part was “the logistics of fitting everything into a house that small,” Cuddeback said. “It definitely presents unique challenges. These are not like a trailer home. They’re built very well. They will last as long as a standard house, but a lot goes into a very small space.”
Numerous others joined Cuddeback in sharing their time and expertise — carpenters, electricians, painters and sometimes people off the street, who dropped by to see what was going on. Urban Farmhouse donated flooring and cabinetry, while Emory Anne Interiors staged the interior.
“Without the whole community, reciprocity between the math class, the larger community and Prototek … we would have been building birdhouses if the community hadn’t stepped in,” said OLA Head Master Dr. Scott Martin.
“This is what happens when community, culture and education work together — you get a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.
Master painters have come and talked about matching paint colors, craftsmen and builders have come in. Students were able to learn in real time from experts how to do a pitch design or install windows. It was much more than any of us expected.”
Student-centered project
As for the students, the outcome far exceeded expectations with them, too, Martin said.
“Students volunteered time on weekends and after school. It really became more than a class project.
“The students had a lot of pride and ownership in it. Literally from the ground up, this has been a student-centered project,” he said.
“When you begin with inspiration, application and calculation make more sense. We don’t give grades. We don’t give tests.
“When you don’t give grades, the student interest gets higher. (This project) combines inspiration with mathematical principles. And the beauty is: it is connected to the community.”
Horton agreed.
“When the students come out to work, every single one can find something they’re good at,” she said.
“Even the most unlikely student could find something to excel at.”
In the end, the parable of the mustard seed is woven through each nail and board, flashing and fitting of the tiny house. Despite its size, Tiny Tudor, as the school calls it, has cast a wide net and gathered in a community in surprising and uplifting ways.
“I just think whoever ends up with the house … I’m excited for that person or family. It’s going to be a warm, beautiful home,” Horton said.
“I’m excited for the owner. I’m excited for what the donation will do for the school. I’m excited for the end benefit.”
For more information or to bid on Tiny Tudor, visit tinyhouseola.com.