The inaugural, prototype “micro apartment” built for the City of Boston, is schedule to leave Mod-Tech Homes at 600 Plain Street, Route 139, in Marshfield at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, August 3, and travel the highway to arrive at Boston City Hall Plaza somewhere between 10:15 and 10:30.
The completed “micro apartment” will be the key attraction on a three-month “Compact Living Roadshow” designed to introduce small living units to the City.
Mayor Marty Walsh’s Housing Innovation Lab (HIL) will introduce this custom-designed, 13 ½ by 33 feet, 380 square-foot prototype design to the city, tentatively scheduled for August 9th, at the beginning of the three-month tour which will see the apartment “on wheels” transported throughout various Boston neighborhoods. It is part of the Mayor’s initiative to build 53,000 new housing units in Boston by the year 2030.
In addition to being among the first “micro apartments” that the city will showcase, what makes it further unique is that it is modular construction. “The Roadshow” is intended as an experiment to determine which Boston neighborhoods are most receptive to micro-units. By offering the opportunity to tour a full-scale, working micro-unit, HIL is going beyond perceptions about square footage and providing neighborhood residents the opportunity to see what these units are really like inside.
Francine Townsend, owner of Mod-Tech Homes, LLC, and Project Manager Paul Townsend worked with Boston designer Addison Godine to find a production facility and ensure the unit could be produced on a very tight schedule and work within a modest budget.Godine said that the city first became interested in the concept of “the Roadshow” through the efforts of Tamara Roy of Stantec, president of the Boston Society of Architects and dubbed “the Mother of the Micro” by one of her clients. Roy’s Stantec office and Godine collaborated on the design, and Mod-Tech Homes helped to translate the design into modular production.
Townsend negotiated and engaged with PennKraft Building Systems (www.pennkraft.net), to construct the prototype in their climate-controlled factory. PennKraft, based in Knox, PA, serves the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
The micro apartment, designed to FHA code, includes a bedroom, kitchen, full shower/bathroom, kitchen, living and sitting area. The smaller size has appeal for millennials, elderly, and all age groups in between.
The City is considering making the prototype design available to individuals to stay overnight as it goes from neighborhood to neighborhood. Godine said that after the three-month city tour, the home will be part of a Boston Society of Architects exhibition and eventually will be offered for sale.
