Art center showcases tiny house movement

Sonja Haller

PHOENIX — Phoenix firefighter Patrick McCue invited Arizona State University students, contractors and artists to dream big by thinking small.

The result is "Microdwelling," in its final weekend at the Shemer Art Center in Phoenix. The outdoor exhibit features 12 structures — all under 600 square feet — ranging from a tiny Midcentury Moroccan Tea House to livable quarters on wheels with sinks and a toilet.

Some structures sport a rough-hewn look designed to show what's possible, while others are furnished and appear move-in ready. Three structures were built by ASU students with a $3,000 grant from The Central Arizona Architecture Foundation. IKEA donated furniture for the structures. Other exhibit sponsors included Salt River Project, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.

This is the third year for the exhibit at the Shemer organized by McCue, whose business Rocket FAB constructs structures with salvaged materials. The exhibit ends its run Sunday, March 1.

A crop of tiny-space blogs and workshops have grown over the last 5-10 years, in addition to real-estate listing services and sales of dwellings that promote life balance, affordability and an eco-friendly lifestyle. Cities with high living costs such as Seattle and Portland have inspired the reality TV show, Tiny House Nation on FYI.

Phoenix firefighter Pat McCue, also the organizer of Microdwelling, created this 144 square-foot structure of four-feet-by-five-feet interchangeable panels.   (Photo: Photo by Pat McCue)

McCue said he decided to stage the exhibit after growing frustrated by looking at magazines and seeing only designs for small spaces. "I kept thinking the trend is moving toward smaller homes but after looking at endless computer renderings, I wanted people to show me what can be done. I wanted to see it, feel it."

Some of the exhibit's builders have built before. Others did it for the first time.

Andrea Hardy graduated in 2012 with a master's degree in architecture from Arizona State University and now works for Creo Architects in Phoenix. Beyond constructing models in college, she had never built a structure from the ground up. "Spaces," an outdoor, wood-ribbed patio and shading structure that is open on one end has been popular among the 10,000 visitors to the exhibit.

"How to make it open and pushing the limits of wood construction to its limits was incredibly rewarding," Hardy said. "I couldn't believe it when it was finally done."

Hardy lauded the work of ASU students who, like each builder, only had a month to construct their structures. She also praised the work of first-time builder Cynthia Scanlan-Tipple, who built a meditative structure that allows in a rainbow of colors through colored cubes.

"I love that the show is mostly students and people who have no construction or design background," Hardy said. "It's interesting to see their perspective on space. To have somebody reach for something and be able to accomplish it is inspiring."