Aaron Maret | Design Build Studio » Pocket Shelters

Down to the Details

aaronmaret — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:44:43 +0000

I’m finally getting to the super-exciting part of the whole project where the details get to shine! Here’s some process photos:

Fully Insulated

aaronmaret — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:28:27 +0000

The good folks at Home Energy Partners recently finalized the insulation, spraying the walls and ceiling with Icynene.

Here are some before, during, and after photos:

looking like a tiny house

aaronmaret — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:28:10 +0000

i finally finished installing the salvaged barnwood siding on the two long exterior walls last week. i’m pretty pleased with the results.

Eyes, a Raincoat, and a Hat

aaronmaret — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:30:33 +0000

PS1 is progressing nicely. This has been a big week for continued evolution and transformation:

Eyes:
On Monday I cut the openings for all window openings, which lightened up the space inside tremendously. It’s exciting to see how open and airy it feels. And the aspect of looking out from within emerged for the first time. Imagining the outside context, and how on a house on wheels, this is much more of a fluid and changing scene. An interesting notion that sparks novelty and excitement in this architect mind.

Raincoat:
Once I cut the openings for the windows, it was a quick dash to install the windows and weatherproof the envelope asap. after some steady rain, a little water, some head scratching, troubleshooting, and finding a flaw in my weatherproofing, i’m fairly confident that the little house is completely “dried in” or rainproofed.

Cap:
Yesterday and this morning brought the addition of a nice red-orange metal roof. Quite dashing I think.

A big thank you to Michael Mooney for the assist on installing the metal panels!

Process photo gallery here.

Dried In

aaronmaret — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:54:08 +0000

Framing is complete and the structure is dried in. Good thing on a rainy, rainy day like today. I’ve been working on some of the details that are about to be installed such as the entry door and salvaged redwood decking.

It’s finally to the point where I can get a clear sense of how big the space really is. It’s quite exciting!

PS1 Gets Spacial

aaronmaret — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:08:54 +0000

Finally lifted the second long wall and the roof. It’s been an interesting process. I’ve only had access to help sporadically, so I’ve been developing techniques to make these moments easier with fewer people. For example, I created hinges that pinned the walls to the floor deck and ensured that when lifted, the wall would settle in the right spot at the edge of the floor and not be able to tip too far. And I built the roof in two sections on the ground in the shop with bolted connections so it would be stronger. Then, we lifted the light sections by hand up on top of the walls. Everything has gone together brilliantly.

It’s exciting to start to see some verticality and space!

Gallery here.

latest ps1 progress

aaronmaret — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:21:41 +0000

i’ve been framing walls, gathering materials, developing the details for a few key places, squaring and sheathing the first wall, and researching where to source the last of the materials i’ll need to finish building the shell. below are some results, including the tiny stack of red metal roofing. so cute!

coming soon: verticality and space!

alternate view via simpleviewer gallery here.

mock it up

aaronmaret — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:04:38 +0000

i’m finally back into the swing of designing the first pocket shelter prototype. we made the jump from paper to 3d reality when we mocked-up up the loft sleeping space to get down to fractions of an inch in terms of just how much space seems optimal for sleeping, reading, other such horizontaling, etc. there’s a balance to be found between space above (the loft) and space below (the kitchen/counter area). there’s really no substitute for putting your body in a space to really be able to understand what it is and what it wants to be.

i’m folding what we learned from the mockup into the construction drawings, which are close to finished. i hope to actually start framing in the coming week or so! stay tuned.

Little House for a Little Boy

aaronmaret — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:54:33 +0000

I’m working on the first prototype for a line of ‘Pocket Shelters.’ They’re small (under 200sqft) structures that merge green design and building with voluntary simplicity. I’ll be moving into it when it’s complete along with my partner and our 2 year old son.

I’m building the entire thing ‘virtually’ in 3D CAD to allow me to work out the construction details and have a very accurate idea of my materials and methods. Below is a snapshot of my working model.