Photos: Atlanta’s SCADpads push limits of tiny house design, city living

Imagine a future world where America’s urban space is at such a premium residents have claimed every usable inch for housing. That’s what Savannah College of Art and Design students, faculty, and alumni did with a pocket of the Midtown institution’s parking garage in 2014, and updated designs of the SCADpad project remain as eye-popping as they are thought-provoking.

With this radical "true community," SCAD’s stated goal was to morph seemingly uninhabitable spaces into artful, adaptive-reuse urban living. (More than 80 percent of the U.S. population now lives in cities, and urban migration is only expected to increase). Fittingly for Atlanta, they chose a section of a parking garage, which if not for the views would be totally banal.

The tiny SCADpad homes themselves all fit in the measly 135 square feet of a standard parking space. Each of the three units has a unique theme, spanning the globe. Elsewhere, visitors find a park, community garden, technology workstation, and rec areas. Meanwhile, the organic garden is fed by a greywater filtration and delivery system. A composting and recycling center helps keep waste minimal.

Curbed’s Micro Week seemed an opportune time to visit the SCADpad project and see what the not-so-tiny fuss is all about. Have a look:

• Micro Week 2016 coverage, discussion [Curbed]
• SCADpad [website]