Many student projects at Rural Studio start from contemporary housing challenges. Such is the case with the 18×18 House. Rural Studio was approached by Eddie Latimer from Affordable Housing Resources (AHR), who challenged students to design and build a home with a footprint measuring only 18’ x 18’, roughly the size of two parking spaces.
AHR is a housing partner with Rural Studio’s Front Porch Initiative; the non-profit provides housing assistance in the Nashville area, where residential space is at a premium. The City of Nashville, like many cities, is negotiating with developers to lessen parking requirements in exchange for inclusion of additional affordable housing units, which prompted Latimer’s challenge. Rural Studio recognized that this project addresses a need in rural areas as well, where land parcels are often small in size or otherwise unsuitable for a larger home footprint.
A group of 5th-year students—Jake Buell, Julie DiDeo, Meagan Mitchell, and Naomi Tony-Alabi—accepted this challenge in 2022 and became the 18×18 House team. On Friday, October 18, 2024, the team, along with new homeowner, Detyrick King, celebrated the home’s completion by cutting a bright yellow ribbon. The event was attended by more than 130 friends, family, supporters, and neighbors.
Rural Studio’s Director, Andrew Freear, praised the students and added, “It’s important to also thank our supporters who make projects like this possible.” King spoke about his experience, providing an emotional reflection on his time working with and getting to know the team over the last two years.
Other speakers emphasized the future implications of this project. Latimer noted that the housing design provides a proof of concept, showing that smaller homes can be built in the limited spaces of urban areas. Rural Studio’s Associate Director Rusty Smith explained that the project will contribute to the Studio’s ongoing research into housing affordability: “The 18×18 House is an exciting and impactful project because it addresses several challenges of equitable and affordable housing access.”
The 18×18 House aims to fulfill the need for a small, adaptable, multistory house in both urban and rural settings. It is two stories with an additional half-story loft, which can be used for storage or as an extra sleeping space. Its compact, square shape means that the house can be applicable to many site conditions and contexts.
The home’s small footprint allows the design to function as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU). ADUs can be built on single-family properties to create more density and housing opportunity in urban neighborhoods. In rural areas, such a small house can be built on family properties that have obstacles to larger houses, such as standing ground water, septic fields, power lines, or abandoned homes that drastically reduce the buildable footprint. The 18×18 House can provide extra space for a growing family or to maintain the kinship network in situations where space may not exist for additions or larger new construction.
Without such a house available, rural homeowners are increasingly turning to prefabricated, mass-produced utility sheds to meet their housing needs. Now, Rural Studio can offer a home design with a small footprint that is also durable, efficient, and beautiful.
Photos above by Timothy Hursley
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Additional gallery images below by Auburn University Rural Studio
