Mobile Home

design a mobile home

design a mobile homearch III

ross ritchie

analyzediagram plan blendingstructure section elevations privacyconstruction assembly roll detail

CONTENTS

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analyze

Through the study of the typology of the mobile home many problems were immediately revealed. Entering into a mobile home, the space is cramped and fragmented. Only very small apertures allow little natural light to come into the interior space. The poor quality of the structure revealed itself by the means of a physical dissection of a trailer, where the poor construction was easily torn away. These are some of main problems I address in my design.

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diagramTo address many of the problems with a simple action, the bedrooms are placed on both ends and slid out of the original footprint. This move allows much more light to enter the living space that connects the two bedrooms. Also the hallway is no longer necessary, which took away valuable floor space for the rest of the plan.

The action of sliding out the two volumes lead to the creation of decks that are then revealed after the rooms are slid out. These new spaces that are created in the original footprint start to blend the interior and exterior. The front door is also created with the void after the sliding.

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plan

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section

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blending

The living space starts to open up to the exterior. The exterior is covered with a corrugated polycarbonate, which allows light to fill the interior spaces and starts to define a façade that allows the structure to show through.

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elevation III

structureTo address the problem of the feeble structure and to assure the stability of the sliding volumes, a light-gauge steel frame is constructed with structural steel for the base and track. This steel frame gives much needed strength and a feeling of safety to the home. The polycarbonate allows a translucent look at the frame, which is repetitious with the studs and the cross bracing. The translucency also allows openings to be created by a single wall assembly that uses the interior sheathing to differentiate the solid wall and the openings.

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3 x 3 steel square tubing

detailed section

screw jack supports

helical screw foundation system

rigid insulation

corrugated polycarbonate sheetingwith uv-screen coating

2 x 6 x 54 lightweight steel roof joist

11’ - 0”

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elevation I

elevation II

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privacyBy using the polycarbonate to let light into the more private spaces, privacy is sustained by the blurring quality of the polycarbonate. This effect also breaks up the harshness of direct sunlight.

sliding modular

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constructionThe assembly of this mobile home is based on one system of wall with no punched out windows. The two bedroom modules that slide can be built at a different location and be placed on the stationary structure at a later time.

The transportation of a mobile home creates many limits for the design that has resulted in double floors and tires that remain on the structure for the entire life of the home. In this design the chassis and tires are removed and the structure is built with a screw jack pier system that allows the home to raise itself up high enough to load itself on a tractor trailer. The home is then transported to the site, then lifts itself off the truck and lowers to its final resting height. The foundations are a helical screw system that is very quick to install and requires little disturbance to the soil profile of the site while remaining very strong.

assembly

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sliding detail

1” dia steel ball transfer

W 6 x 20

S 7 x 15.3

3 x 3 steel angle

2 x 4 cedar decking

ST 9 x 27.35

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