Is It Possible to Build a Home for $1,000?

Considering the recent items I've run on small houses, I think that it might be good idea to bring up an article from Friday's Wall Street Journal. It seems that architects at MIT have been issued a challenge to develop a home that can be built for $1000 or less.

“There is a huge proportion of the world’s population that has pressing housing needs,” says Tony Ciochetti, a professor with the Cambridge, Mass., school’s Center for Real Estate. “Can you build affordable, sustainable shelter for such a large population?”

The prototype, dubbed the Pinwheel House, was designed by Ying chee Chui, a 2011 graduate of MIT’s Department of Architecture. Measuring 800 square feet, it was constructed in Mianyang, part of China’s Sichuan province.

The house boasts a modular layout with hollow brick walls with steel bars for reinforcement and wooden box beams. It is designed to withstand a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. The house boasts a modular layout with hollow brick walls with steel bars for reinforcement and wooden box beams. It is designed to withstand a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. This prototype turned out to be more costly — $5,925.

While the tiny price tag wasn’t possible, the mission remains noble.

This house, with the roof removed, was designed by Ying chee Chui as a part of MIT’s “1K House” project.