Kingwood Park High School students will soon have a tiny homes workshop that is more conducive to constructing small houses for homeless veterans.
The latest tiny home, which was designed by K-Park 2020 graduate Brendan Flaherty, celebrated its completion with a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 26. This home is 209 square feet and is furnished with a bed, dining table and chairs and cabinets, according to a press release from Humble ISD.
The homes were completed as part of Humble ISD’s program “Students Helping Veterans: Big Heroes, Tiny Homes,” a student-led initiative that teaches students teamwork, architecture and construction skills. There are two other tiny homes built by Humble ISD students that veterans now live in. Summer Creek students contributed to the project and built a tiny home last year too.
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This new home built by K-Park students was provided to a veteran and moved to the Langetree Retreat and Ecocenter in Liberty County.
For Flaherty, working on tiny homes for veterans helped him find what he wanted to study in college — construction science and management — a change from his first interest, architecture. He served as the lead architect and designer on a home that will soon be going to a veteran in need.
“It started as a vision for the students to be able to get some real-world experience building and doing construction stuff in our architecture classes while also being able to give back to veterans in need,” Flaherty said.
K-Park teacher Missi Taylor said they continue to get better at constructing the homes.
The class keeps a book of what they learn from each build to ensure the process continues with a smooth transition. The first home cost around $10,000 more than the following two because it was custom built. They had an initial cost of $40,000, which was provided through donations. They have had donors for each house that have helped bring their vision to life.
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K-Park senior Parker Ryan will serve as the lead architect and designer for the K-Park’s third tiny home. It will be the fourth home built by Humble ISD students.
Construction will begin soon, but they have only reached $13,000 of their needed $18,000 funding goal to complete the home. The second home did not have any interior walls, but the third will have a divider wall to break apart the space.
Ryan said he the new indoor workshop will help with their project building.
“It will help a whole lot,” Ryan said. “...The addition of like a place where all of our stuff can be built is going to help so much, especially covered because it will be protected from the elements.”
Their teacher, however, said the students still need to understand how to work with the natural elements in the real world of construction. Taylor spent 15 years in architecture working everywhere from the headquarters for Chevron-Phillips to her mom’s lake house, she said.
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“I actually came from the architectural industry and so for me when I’m teaching them, I’m teaching them how to be professional because in the real world I know what the expectation is of an employee and a manager because I was a manager,” Taylor said. “...They all come to me at different levels, and the ones that end up staying with us through the third and fourth year and are actually building the house they’re hard workers and go-getters.”
For more information on their work, visit their website here.
savannah.mehrtens@chron.com
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Kingood Park students complete 2nd tiny home for homeless veterans - Houston Chronicle
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