In mid-December, 14 tiny houses were displayed in a parking lot near the Pacific Northwest College of Art. These were designed by local professional architects and students of the PSU architecture program and then constructed at various sites, including two at the ReBuilding Center. The concept is to provide small, safe, and beautiful sleeping units for the houseless population of the city. Initial planning was carried out by a collection of public and private participants calling themselves “Partners On Dwelling,” hence the acronym “POD.” By a happy coincidence, tiny houses can also be referred to as “pods!”
A collection of “pods” becomes a village, and are planned to be located at various sites throughout the city. The current 14 pods are proposed to be sited in North Portland in the community of Kenton. New pods continue to be built at the Rebuilding Center, utilizing available recycled materials. The long-term goal of the initiative is to create 30 villages of 30 pods each.
