Photo: The Tiny Home on the HFC campus, courtesy RE/MAX, LLC
Henry Ford College, in collaboration with RE/MAX, LLC, built a Tiny Home that RE/MAX subsequently auctioned off to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The home sold for more than $47,000 at auction; the complete story of the auction is here.
Why a Tiny Home?
Students in HFC’s architecture/construction technology (ACT), energy technology, and interior design programs joined together to build and design what RE/MAX has dubbed the “Tiny Home for Tiny Tots.” With faculty direction and assistance, the students completed the Tiny Home on the HFC campus. It’s a single-story home with a loft that has a footprint of just 202 square feet.
“This is a big project. We’ve never done anything this complex,” said Chad Richert, HFC ACT program coordinator. “This is a great opportunity for students at the College. The ACT program beat professional contractors when bidding for this project. That speaks volumes about our program! We’re really passionate about this project. It gives us the opportunity to collaborate with other departments within and beyond the College and showcase our work.”
The Tiny Home interior feels surprisingly spacious, due to careful design, windows, and a loft area for sleeping.
People waiting to see the inside of the Tiny Home.
An early view of the tiny home, prior to completion.
Learning and serving at the same time
According to Richert, more than a dozen HFC students were involved in the design and build process. Students in HFC’s interior design program also helped design and select interior furnishings to complete the home, with an eye on trendy and unique styles that would make the place homey and draw interest in the auction.
“The Tiny Home project has been a rewarding hands-on experience. It’s taught me a lot,” said ACT student Darren Reed, of Detroit.
“This is a great architecture program. The decision to come to HFC is probably the best one I ever made,” added ACT student Summer Hassan, of Dearborn.
“This is a notable and worthwhile project,” said Karen Wilmering, HFC interior design program coordinator. “Our students got to work on a real-world project, which will enhance their résumés, and it also allowed them to collaborate with students across three disciplines. The Tiny Home will help someone who needs housing, and the auction proceeds will benefit the CMN Hospitals. Everybody wins.”
The benefit auction took place online over the final weekend of July, 2018.
Chad Richert and students describe the project and process in this 1.5-minute video.