Irish non-profit Common Knowledge takes aim at Ireland's increasing housing prices with the Tigín Tiny Home, a 215-square-foot mobile home designed to be an affordable starter home for first-time buyers. Starting at $55,000 USD, the tiny structure is intended to act as a stepping stone between renting and owning a house—buyers can either shack up in the Tigín while waiting for improvements on a fixer-upper, or move in for two or three years while saving up for a larger place.
While Common Knowledge offers the cabins direct to sale, the non-profit is primarily an educational hub that offers courses in carpentry, brick-laying, welding, and more, with the goal of teaching students the skills needed to build their own tiny home. The Build School program was launched in 2022 as part of their Tiny Home Project and has already provided over 200 students with home-building skills while simultaneously building four Tigín Tiny Homes.
As for the Tigín itself, the mobile cabin features a spacious design enhanced by generous glazing and unusually high ceilings. A lower level contains a kitchenette, a bathroom with a shower and composting toilet, a folding window seat that doubles as a bed, and a system of shelves for storage. A ladder leads up to a sleeping mezzanine that's roomy enough for a king bed.
In order to keep the structure sufficiently light for transportation, the designers turned to corrugated hemp paneling for exterior cladding. Made in collaboration with English hemp-producer Margent Farm, the panels are created using cannabis plant fibers and sugar-based resin from agriculture waste, producing a material that's both lightweight and sustainable.
The Tigín further employs unconventional and sustainable techniques with interior cork-insulation and an electric system that can be on or off the grid.
Common Knowledge hopes to create even more access to the Tigín Tiny Home by creating a build-kit with architectural drawings, a materials list with suggested alternatives, and more building resources.
So if you're stressing about rising interest rates, maybe it's time to give tiny home living serious consideration—or you could just move to Ireland.
Published 08-30-2022
