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SPRINT BRIEF
You will design your own personalized tiny house in Tinkercad, inspired by your hobbies, interests, and lifestyle. You will create custom spaces, furniture, and unique features that represent who you are while exploring architecture, spatial planning, and 3D design. Your final tiny house will balance creativity, functionality, and personal expression.
WHAT
You will start with the space you know best: your own room. Draw it from memory, then measure it and recreate it to scale. Next, redesign it into the room you actually want, experimenting with different layouts and moving cut-out furniture by hand before committing to a design.
From there, expand your room into a bigger room that includes a bedroom/living space, kitchen, and bathroom. Build your final design in 3D, then imagine where in the world your tiny place could live.
Test many layouts before choosing one. Even moving a bed a few feet can completely change how a space feels and functions.
to learn that architecture starts with observing the space you already live in and that in a small space, the plan is what makes it feel big.
Why?
Final Project Expectations
Your final deliverable is a 3D Tinkercad model plus an AI-generated image placing your tiny house in a context you have chosen and can justify.
Your tiny house must keep the footprint of your real room, and must support a full home program: sleeping, cooking, washing, storage and an entry.
You will design a tiny house based on your own room, shaped by your own interests, hobbies and daily routines.
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The design process will include these steps:
THE PROCESS
Draw your room from memory! Explore the Ikea website to draw your room.
Mental Mapping
& Ikea Testing
Use graph & bristol paper to design your dream house.
Conceptualization
Build your tiny house in Tinkercad at full size
Model Making
A good example of signals are "the launch of chatGPT" or "the fall of the iconic tunnel tree redwood" and good examples of drivers would be "artificial intelligence" or "climate change"
Then, identify signals (glimpses of the future we already see today) and drivers (what made the signal possible)
Final Expo
Use AI image generation to put your tiny house in the context you designed it for.
Session 1
60mins
Session 2
60mins
Session 3-4
180 mins
Session 6
60 mins
Print your AI image and 3D render project. Pin up your project!
Final Touches
AI Generation
Session 5
180 mins
Student Examples
Student Examples
A precedent is a real-world example or project that you can research to better understand ideas related to your work.
So...what is architecture?
Architecture
Architecture is the art of designing spaces for people. It considers how people use a space, where it is located, what it is made of, and how it works.
Some important principles of architecture include:
Site
In architecture, a site is the place where a building is located. It includes the land, surroundings, weather, sunlight, views, and landscape. Architects study the site to design a building that works well with its environment.
Site
Falling Water
House NA
Desert Nomad House
Frank Lloyd Wright, 1937
Sou Fujimoto Architects, 2011
Studio Rick Joy, 2006
How can sunlight, wind, water, or the landscape change the way a building is designed? Can you think of a building that was designed to fit its surroundings?
Q:
Fallingwater
Frank Lloyd Wright, 1935
Program
In architecture, a program explains how a space will be used and who will use it. It includes the activities, furniture, movement, and needs of the people in the space. A good program helps make a space useful, comfortable, and easy to use.
Seattle Public Library
OMA/LMN , 2004
Program
If you could design a space just for yourself, what would it need to include to make it functional and enjoyable for your daily activities?
Q:
House in Futako-Shinchi
Tato Architects, 2010
Materials
In architecture, materials are what a building is made from, such as wood, concrete, glass, or metal. Materials affect how a building looks, feels, works, and lasts over time.
Cork House
Matthew Barnett Howland, 2019
What material do you think would best represents your personality in a design, and why? How would that material affect the building’s appearance and function?
Q:
Wooden House
Sou Fujimoto Architects, 2006
Materials
The Glass House
Villa Ottolenghi
Rolling Huts
Philip Johnson, 1949
Carlo Scarpa, 1978
Olson Kundig Architects, 2007
Structure
Structure refers to how a building is assembled to support loads and resist forces like gravity, wind, and earthquakes as well as occupants. It includes the framework, foundation, and overall stability of the design, ensuring it stands safely and reliably. Beyond function and safety, good structural design allows for creative forms and spatial innovations, pushing the boundaries of architectural expression.
Umbrella House
Paul Rudolph, 1953
Structure
Chemosphere
Crossed House
Tower House
John Lautner, 1960
Clavel Arquitectos, 2013
Gluck+, 2012
Have you ever seen a building or object that made you wonder how it stays up and doesn't collapse? What do you think makes its structure effective or unique?
Q:
Balancing Barn
MVRDV, 2010
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Session 1
Mental Mapping
1.1
A mental map is a drawing of a place made entirely from memory. Architects use them to find out what a space is actually like to live in, rather than what it measures on paper.
What you remember clearly is what matters to you. What you draw too big, put on the wrong wall, or forget completely tells you just as much: it shows the parts of the room you never really use.
Mental Mapping
1.1
Without looking at photos and without measuring anything, draw your bedroom as seen from above.
You will have to fill your A4 completely
Ikea Testing
1.2
After drawing your bedroom mental map, open the IKEA Room Planner and mess around with your space!
Try moving, adding, and swapping furniture.
Select the type of space and start from scratch.
Ikea Testing
1.2
Optional: HW
For next session bring photos and some dimensions for your room.
Measure your room's length and width. Measure the door, each window, and the ceiling height.
In brainstorming, students collectively generate ideas that will shape the concepts for their group projects. They typically begin by listing ideas individually, then come together to share and discuss them using a pin-up brainstorming board filled with writing, drawings, Post-it notes, and lively conversation.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Session 2
Bristol Paper
Grid Paper
Ruler
Markers
Photo of their room
Scale Understanding
2.1
Scale tells us how much smaller our model is than the real object.
1:200 →1 cm = 2 m
1:100 → 1 cm (paper) = 1 m (real life)
1:50 → 1 cm = 0.5 m
1:20 → 1 cm = 0.2 m / 20 cm
For example your room is 4 m × 4 m.
1:200 ..2 × 2 cm
1:100...4 × 4 cm
1:50.....8 × 8 cm
1:20.....20 × 20 cm
2.2
Brainstorming
Conceptualization
2.3
Time to draw your dream house.
Using graph paper and a 1:20 scale (every 1 meter in real life = 5 cm).
Start by sketching the overall shape of your tiny house. Don’t worry about furniture yet, focus on the size, shape, and how the different spaces could connect.
Shapes: Bubble, Curved angles, square, triangle, circle, you pick!
Draw your room at on graph paper 1:20 scale: every 1 meter in real life = 5 cm on your drawing.
Conceptualization
Conceptualization
Sketch the new spaces around your room first. Think about how you move from one activity to another and how spaces could overlap to keep your tiny house tiny.
Furniture Layout
2.5
Cut out simple furniture shapes from Bristol paper at 1:20 scale. Place them on your floor plan and move them around to test different layouts.
Try at least 3 different arrangements before choosing your final layout.
Furniture Drawing
2.6
Finally sketch your furniture layout on your plan
Prototyping is the process of turning your sketches and ideas into models that you can test and improve.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Session 3-4
3D Modeling on Tinkercad
3rd
Now, bring your tiny house to life in Tinkercad! Use your scaled floor plan as a guide to build the walls, doors, windows, and furniture in 3D.
Refer to the toolbox folder [3d Tinker cad] and learn the basics before creating your project.
3D Assets Online
You don’t have to model everything from scratch! You can search online for 3D assets like furniture, plants, lights, or decorations and import them into Tinkercad.
Head to the Toolbox → “3D Assets” folder for links and instructions.
For example, you can find models on Thingiverse, Sketchfab, or Printables.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Session 5-6
AI Rendering
Use an AI tool to generate an environment for your tiny house.
Think about the feeling you want your house to have. For example, if you want a calm, relaxing space with greenery and birds, you could ask ChatGPT to place your house in a forest, beside a waterfall, or surrounded by nature.
AI Rendering
Use the following prompt this is what you will get:
Generate a professional architectural render of my design, placing the house within a realistic environment. Keep the original design and form of my house, while adding landscape, lighting, materials, and surroundings that match the atmosphere and experience I want to create.
Final Exhibition is when you display all your work done the sprint. Present what work and didn't worked!
Pin up!
Print your AI-generated images along with screenshots of your Tinkercad model. Use them to show how your idea developed from your first concept to your final 3D tiny house.
Pin up your sketches, Tinkercad model screenshots, final render, and any inspiration or moodboard images that helped shape your design.
Add a small card with your name and project name.
End of Challenge!
Prompt
You will design your own personalized tiny house in Tinkercad, inspired by your hobbies, interests, and lifestyle. You will create custom spaces, furniture, and unique features that represent who you are while exploring architecture, spatial planning, and 3D design. Your final tiny house will balance creativity, functionality, and personal expression.
Teamwork: Recommend individual
