Wednesday 31 August 2016

Peters-Margedant ‘Tiny House,’ by William Wesley Peters

 

Arch_Rendering.0.0

One thing Auckland’s new Unitary Plan makes more difficult, if not bans entirely, is so-called Tiny Houses – those oft-ingeniously crafted tiny spaces that are an many urbanites’ answer elsewhere to the problems of rocketing house prices.

A very early modern Tiny House was this 50m2 gem designed in 1934 by Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice (and eventual son-in-law) William Wesley Peters – who had at this point just left the Wright orbit.

"This might be one of the only early organic designs in the small house movement," says Dennis Au, Evansville’s Historic Preservation Officer…
    According to Adam Green, a local architect working with the
Peters-Margedant House Preservation Project, the home was likely built on spec, funded by Peters’s father, Frederick Romer Peters, the editor of the Evansville Press. Even though it’s named after his cousin, James Margedant—who, along with his wife, four kids, and dog managed to live in the home for 11 years—Green believes the young Peters, then only 22, designed it as means to showcase his practice, and hopefully drum up interest from a developer. (It’s also unlikely a 552-square-foot home was designed for six people). Peters even did much of the carpentry on his own.
    "What blows me away is that Peters was 22 when he did this," says Green. "It’s a bold step to take, to invest in yourself. He’d just got his architectural license, and just walked away from this great position. This is a bold decision for a young man just starting his career to make."

Not a bad start.

[Rendering by Adam Green from Curbed]

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