Sixthriver is proud to be involved in the Tiny Victories Contest, an architecture competition to design micro-homes for Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Community First! Village, a 27-acre, master-planned community that provides affordable, sustainable housing and a supportive community for the disabled, chronically homeless in Central Texas. We have partnered with Hatch Ulland Owen Architects and Balfour Beatty Construction to build, furnish and decorate our micro-home, HOPE: House of Promise & Empowerment, by October 15th, 2015.
We believe Goodness has a Building Code: Everyone sleeps inside. We need your help to meet that code, so we have launched a fundraising campaign to raise the $20,000 needed to build HOPE House. Mobile Loaves & Fishes will be unveiling the 2015 Tiny Victories micro-homes at a showcase and media event at Community First! Village on Saturday, October 31, 2015.
You can donate directly to our campaign online by visiting https://www.tilt.com/campaigns/hope-micro-home-construction-costs We will be collecting funds through June 30th. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. With your donation, we will be one step closer to ending homelessness in Central Texas.
You have helped us realize so many of our goals over the years, supporting our involvement with organizations including Capital Area Food Bank, Austin Dog Rescue, Don't Bully Me Rescue, Lizzy's Hospice House, Meals on Wheels, Wags, Hope & Healing, to name a few. Please take a moment to look at the Mobile Loaves and Fishes Community First! Village website to learn more about this amazing opportunity to be apart of “The World’s First Community Powered By Crowdsourced Energy.”
About HOPE HOUSE
Mobile Loaves & Fishes Founder & President Alan Graham compares the homeless’ to the Israelites’ Exodus, during which they built the Tabernacle, a portable tent-like structure that served as the dwelling of the Divine Presence of God. This structure is the inspiration for HōPE. We leveraged the strong lines of this universally recognizable form to create a structure with a sense of permanence, allowing the resident to feel a sense of stability.
Affordability is addressed by utilizing commonly available materials that are easy to install. Materials were selected for appearance, performance and durability. Metal panels provide a weather-resistant outer layer; a soft, but durable, interior palette supplies comfort. It’s our hope that this house will give promise and empowerment to the residents.
The program dictates no air-conditioning, so thermal comfort is addressed through several strategies. A large ceiling fan circulates the air, while operable exhaust louvers along the high gable ends work with low awning windows to create a convective air current. The gabled-tent shape has no overhangs, so it permits an unbroken thermal envelope. Continuous insulation and weather barrier regulate the interior. Polycarbonate end walls insulate while allowing diffused daylight to penetrate the space, eliminating the need for artificial lighting during daylight hours. Since building orientation is undefined, box windows are incorporated insuring the glazing will be shaded at any orientation.
About Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF)
Mobile Loaves & Fishes is a social outreach ministry that empowers communities into a lifestyle of service with the homeless. Their mission to provide food and clothing and promote dignity to our homeless brothers and sisters in need is accomplished through three core programs: Community First!, ROADS Micro-Enterprise and our Truck Communities.
About Community First! Village
Community First! Village provides a home for homeless brothers and sisters in need and creates innovative solutions for affordable, efficient housing in Austin, Texas. The Master Planned site is the first of its kind. The property will include:
▪ An innovative mix of affordable housing options
▪ Places for worship, study, and fellowship
▪ Memorial garden and columbarium
▪ A community garden featuring fruit- and nut-bearing trees and vegetables
▪ A chicken operation, beehives producing fresh honey, and aquaponics
▪ A workshop with tool bank and art gallery for micro-enterprise opportunities
▪ A medical facility for physical and mental health screenings and support services including hospice and respite care
▪ Walking trails
▪ An outdoor theater and bed & breakfast for mission visits
▪ CAP Metro bus stop
▪ WiFi
About Tiny Victories
The Tiny Victories design competition is a project of AIA Austin's designvoice committee, which enables the talent and voice of design professionals to serve areas of need in the community through collaboration, design and informational programs. The object of the competition is to design a minimalist shelter or "micro home" suitable for one person for an extended period of time. The shelter should provide the basic needs of shelter and comfort, while, to the greatest extent possible, promoting one's sense of place among the community of which it is a part.