Micro home designed in part by UTSA alumna wins first-ever Tiny Victories design competition

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Dogtrot, courtesy of Designtrait Architecture + Laura Shipley. Visit designtrait.com for more information.

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(June 11, 2015) – A 200 square foot micro home designed by UTSA alumna Laura Shipley ‘14 and Austin-based firm Designtrait will begin construction this summer. Their design, “Dogtrot,” will be one of eight constructed as part of the Community First! Village, an experimental living community in Central Texas.

Shipley, co-worker Brianna Nixon and supervising architects Becky Jeanes and Tray Toungate designed Dogtrot for Tiny Victories, a recent competition hosted by the Community First! Village, which is managed by nonprofit Mobile Loaves and Fishes, and the Austin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). According to the Tiny Victories web site, the aim of the competition was to leverage the talent of Texas architects to “provide affordable, sustainable housing for the disabled and chronically homeless of Central Texas.”

In fall 2014, Tiny Victories challenged its participants to design fully livable minimalist, low-cost shelters no larger than 200 square feet. Shipley / Designtrait’s design was one of 54 home designs submitted by up-and-coming architects.

The Dogtrot micro home that Shipley and Co. designed was modeled after the traditional breezeway homes that were popular in the Southern U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th century. According to Shipley, a major aim of their design was to showcase the benefits of a simplified living arrangement. 

“Adhering to the Tiny Victories’ mission was important to my colleagues and me,” Shipley said. “We wanted to provide the resident with as much freedom with their living area as possible, while giving a sense of openness and simplicity.”

Per Designtrait’s design summary, Dogtrot is comprised of two rooms, a smaller sleeping area and a larger living area, separated by a breezeway that can double as a porch. The living area’s high ceilings serve to increase the home’s airflow, giving the perception of more space. Restrooms, showers and laundry facilities would be kept separate and would be shared communally by the village residents.

The proposed Community First! Village is managed and organized by Mobile Loaves & Fishes, an organization that delivers meals to homeless and working poor populations throughout the country. 

Shipley is a 2014 graduate of the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning’s M.Arch III graduate program, which instructs student without undergraduate architecture degrees about the field.

“The education that I received from UTSA has been a major contributor to my success in the field,” Shipley said. “The experiences that I had in the College of Architecture, Construction and Planning helped prepare me for the challenges of my career. The service-minded focus of the college has also been extremely helpful in understanding how architecture and design can best be utilized to serve the community.”

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For more information about the Tiny Victories competition or to view the winning designs, including Dogtrot, visit www.tinyvictories.org.

For more information about the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning, visit cacp.utsa.edu.

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