That’s a sad photo – a porch swing with no swing.
Not only a professor, but the dean!
I call bullshit. He’s clearly living in and around the dumpster. Look at the square footage wasted on gardens! I say he should pack up his bench, dig up the tomato plants, and move everything indoors. Then we can talk about cozy.
It sure is an attention-getting ploy.
A dumpster is about the worst starting point for a house if you want any sort of comfort. It would make a lot more sense to use a little canned-ham travel trailer from the sixties. They have a similar footprint but are insulated and moderately watertight.
Maybe at least paint the thing white so it’s not a heat sponge?
That’s amazing. Usually only grad students live in dumpsters.
Students need to play a loud recording of a garbage-truck every morning – beep, beep, beep, whirrrrr, mmmmpt, whrirrr, clang – and then give the dumpster a little shake
I think much of the tiny-home movement is. And its a good attention-getting ploy. I am, at least, thinking about all of the “stuff” that I have that maybe I don’t need to have.
not actually getting rid of any of it, mind you, but thinking about it. And as I point out to my wife, isn’t that a good first step?
Phase four:
First thing I thought when I read the blurb was, “I bet he has access to shower, toilet, study/work area, and eating accommodations nearby at his university. Otherwise there’s no way he could do a silly attention-whore stunt like this.”
Lo and behold, he does. He’s not living in the dumpster by any stretch of the imagination. He just happens to sleep there. He’s living at the university.
I dream of downgrading to a tiny sustainable home. Sadly, it seems like a rough lifestyle to inflict on my spouse, two children, and not to mention the most important thing: where will I keep all my boardgame sand musical instruments?
I would live to read a piece about someone other than a divorcé or the terminally single.
Seems like this is somewhat at odds with what I consider a principle of “tiny living”; sustainability. The reliance on external support for water, sanitation, food, etc. all result in what are probably some unhealthy impacts for both the resident and those around him. Even the original “tiny home” of your average trailer home is more livable and sustainable than this. Really, the only reason this is news is because it puts “professor” and “dumpster” in the same headline.
I’m far more interested in another project in Austin; creating transitional “tiny homes” for homeless people. Not only more sustainable with a bigger societal impact, but also more aesthetic as well.
Double-Secret Probation for you!
Yes - for all intents and purposes he has the living space of a shared dorm room. And all of the same shared amenities.
As an exercise in tiny-housing it seems kinda dumb too - a steel dumpster isn’t designed to be lived in, so it’s going to be a nightmare to make it livable. You would be better off trying to live in a $5000 shed from Home Depot - at least that’s made out a nice, sustainable wood.
What I do find interesting about it is the exploration of the idea that maybe we don’t all need to have all the stuff that we have in house - does everyone need a kitchen? Does everyone need a washer and dryer…do most people really need much more than just a safe place to sleep? That’s interesting.
In my youth I spent quite a while living in very small places (converted warehouse space) with basically just a single private room - shared kitchen, restrooms, etc. between about 30 people (plus hangers on). It was actually pretty great and a very social scene - much more so than living in a fully loaded apartment. I think that there is interesting space to explore there. I think that there is probably an interesting space to explore around housing that consists of lots of very minimal studios - just a place to sleep in a campus like environment with lots of shared facilities that can be reserved using some kind of system similar to rideshare type things. Not everyone needs a everything all the time.
“boardgame sand musical instruments”
Please tell me more about your unusual hobby.
Love that they tiled the interior.
One could just build a fire under the angled part and have a nice hot tub – as long as you don’t mind some minor burns on occasion.
Deliberate, sustainable living - in a van, down by the river. Where one may engage in mental masturbation in peace.
Brings new meaning to the term “disposable academic”
