Houslets

Founder Tim McCormick conceptualized Houslets for people much like himself, who moved to an urban hotspot such as San Francisco and discovered that standard housing prices locked out residents in need of an affordable place to live. His compact, modular system takes the idea of “parklets”—or tiny temporary parks in parking spaces—a step further by adding micro-housing to the equation, thus repurposing unused or underutilized parts of a city for low-cost, low-income housing.

The former product manager spent several years living in a converted, one-car garage in Palo Alto, Calif., as he worked on Houslets, which employs 8-foot-by-8 foot modules and steel frames that are easily assembled and disassembled. The structures can be expanded by swapping out existing panels for larger ones. The housing units can double as event and work shelters and use low-skill, DIY fabrication.

The company is also working with municipalities and property owners to facilitate siting and approval of units via “lean urbanism” approaches, such as temporary use and accessory-dwelling zoning.

Founder Tim McCormick conceptualized Houslets for people much like himself, who moved to an urban hotspot such as San Francisco and discovered that standard housing prices locked out residents in need of an affordable place to live. His compact, modular system takes the idea of “parklets”—or tiny temporary parks in parking spaces—a step further by adding micro-housing to the equation, thus repurposing unused or underutilized parts of a city for low-cost, low-income housing.

The former product manager spent several years living in a converted, one-car garage in Palo Alto, Calif., as he worked on Houslets, which employs 8-foot-by-8 foot modules and steel frames that are easily assembled and disassembled. The structures can be expanded by swapping out existing panels for larger ones. The housing units can double as event and work shelters and use low-skill, DIY fabrication.

The company is also working with municipalities and property owners to facilitate siting and approval of units via “lean urbanism” approaches, such as temporary use and accessory-dwelling zoning.