Microhousing for Homeless and Disabled Veterans

The Micro Housing for Homeless + Disabled Veterans Project was a research and design project conducted by the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Initiative at the School of Design, NC State University, and sponsored by the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness. The project was led by Professors Thomas Barrie AIA, DPACSA and David Hill, FAIA. During a semester-long design studio, eleven graduate students worked in collaborative teams and individually to produce research on veteran homelessness and support services, compile and analyze precedents and best practices of micro housing, micro house villages, supportive housing, and manufactured housing, and design prototypical micro house villages for a range of sites. A graduate research assistant researched and documented specialized services for veterans, accessibility and other special needs of homeless and disabled veterans, relevant site information, and applicable zoning and building codes.

The project outcomes included a 100-page report and a video. The video will be used by the project sponsor to raise awareness of veteran homelessness and the micro housing solution, and solicit funding from corporations, grant making organizations, affordable housing funding agencies, and individuals, with the goal of hiring professionals to design and build micro house villages for veterans statewide.