College student creates cabin on wheels
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
Hank Butitta of Delavan took the usual path for many mainstream Americans after high school. He went to college. He got a degree.
He earned a master’s degree in architecture, which might be where “mainstream” ends for Butitta. As his final these project for his master’s degree, he built a cabin on wheels that he plans to take on a cross-country road trip. Down the line, he may decorate this home a little more, using materials from acrylic prints pros since 2009 and the like, but for now the idea is more proof of concept for a different kind of home.
Birth of an idea
The 27-year-old was born in Waukesha and moved to Delavan at the age of 10. He attended St. Andrew Parish School and graduated from Delavan-Darien High School in 2004. He earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Minnesota and then went on to get his master’s degree in May.
Butitta took a class that allowed him to choose from a group of topics for his thesis project. He said he had always been a very hands-on kind of learner, so he chose the theme “full-scale prototyping” with Professor Adam Marcus.
“I knew that was a topic I could take advantage of,” Butitta said.
Butitta said the project evolved over time. It started out as simply something he wanted. Butitta had recently discovered that his grandfather owned some land just north of Wisconsin Dells, and he and some friends had looked into building a very small cabin on the property to ensure the property would continue to be used. Local ordinances, however, required things they did not need – like a septic permit and a minimum space of 800 square feet.
Butitta found that it would cost more than he and his friends could afford to build the cabin, so they discussed a camping trailer instead. Many would have gone on to consider looking at used tiny homes for sale, which is a great way for many to get housing, but their plans kept shifting. So much so in fact that they eventually morphed into converting a bus that would provide more space and haul itself. Butitta could then have his cabin and satisfy the requirements of his project.
In the course of converting the bus, Butitta said the project became about more than that. He said it stirred discussion about how architecture is taught.
“In school you do so much drawing or, at best, modeling,” Butitta said.
“You need to build at full scale, hands-on,” he said. “There are so many students who can draw but have no idea how to actually make it happen.”
Butitta said the project was very satisfying, and he spent more time discussing the education aspects of the project with the critics of his thesis than the bus itself.
Tiny life trial
Butitta plans to take a road trip from July 30 to Aug. 22 to explore beyond that. He said during the conversion process all of his time was focused on designing and building the cabin on wheels. Now he wants to see how it relates to the “tiny house movement” that he says many people embrace.
According to a website called thetinylife.com, the notion is a social movement in which people are downsizing the space they live in. The typical American home is about 2,600 square feet while the typical tiny home can be 100 to 400 square feet in all shapes and forms with the goal of simplified living.
The website says people have environmental or financial reasons to live in tiny homes or simply want more time and freedom. The site says most Americans spend a third to a half of their income on their home, leading to debt and living paycheck to paycheck.
Butitta said living in such a small space has definite challenges. Accumulate a lot of “junk” as many people do in their homes is not an option.
“It will never be widespread but it does get attention,” Butitta said. “Now home values are based on square footage, not quality or functionality.”
Butitta said existing artifacts – like buses – can be used to construct a comfortable tiny home rather than building from scratch.
While Butitta is interested in meeting people who live in tiny homes on his road trip, he does not plan on living in his bus full time. For one thing, the bus is still a work in progress – it lacks toilet facilities, running water and electrical outlets. Those are things Butitta plans to add as money becomes available.
The transformation
The bus itself was purchased on Craig’s List for $3,000. Butitta said his grandfather gave him a loan to make the purchase and start the project. He had his eye on a different bus that would have cost only $1,500, but the seller backed out. That turned out to be a blessing, Butitta said, because the bus he eventually purchased was in much better condition. It had only recently left service as a school bus and was well maintained.
Butitta asked the university if he could park the bus behind the architecture classroom building in a sandpit where large projects were sometimes built and was given permission to do so. The exterior of the bus is still the same gray that was applied after its life as a school bus ended. The interior has been totally “re-imagined.”
All the student seats have been removed, and the interior is outfitted with light wood paneling, two beds that can convert to a third, sitting areas and tables, storage and recessed lighting. Space for a future kitchen and bathroom facilities remains unfinished.
Butitta said the bus is meant to be a place to sleep, eat and socialize with six to eight people. He said he tried to create as much flexibility in the design as possible with sliding beds, convertible couches that can become beds and hidden storage spaces.
Butitta also could not bring himself to remove or cover up any of the original windows. Instead he added polycarbonate covers that still allow some light through but provide privacy and insulation. Butitta also added insulation in the walls and ceiling. The floor is wood salvaged from a basketball gymnasium.
Overall Butitta said the living space is about 75 percent complete and water an d electrical systems are about 25 percent done. He hopes to have a portable toilet in place by the time he and his friend Justin Evidon leave on their road trip.
The road trip will head to Minneapolis first then proceed west with stops at the Badlands, Yellowstone, Seattle, the Pacific Coast, San Francisco, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and Kansas City before returning to Minnesota. Butitta said they plan to stay at national parks and with friends along the way.
Evidon is a professional photographer and plans to document the entire trip. Butitta said the two plan to weave it all into a narrative and make a documentary in the hopes of expanding the discussion about the tiny house movement. He said it could make an interesting story about whether living that way is really possible.
“It’s OK just sitting here now,” Butitta said, “but after a month I might be going crazy.”
The architect’s future
Butitta has the time to make such a road trip because he made the unorthodox decision not to pursue a traditional job after graduating.
“I am at my most employable right now,” he said. “I just graduated and I had a great thesis project that won the Richard Morrill Critic’s Choice Award.”
Butitta said he has wanted to be an architect since he was 10 but has struggled to balance creativity with practicality in recent years. He said he does not want to work for a firm sitting in front of a computer making drawings.
“I have always preferred the shop to the studio,” he said.
Butitta has been making money since graduating working on projects for people. He has leased space in a local shop and purchased a CNC fabrication machine on Craig’s List, taking projects like wooden molds for glass blowers and styrofoam molds for painting.
“It is great and awful at the same time,” he said. “There is always a new problem to work on, but it is stressful to figure out the solution.”
Butitta said he gets business through word of mouth and has developed a reputation as a “maker.”
Butitta said one thing he learned from the project is that it is OK if something starts out as a selfish thing at first. He said people appreciate things that other people are passionate about. He said people he talks to seems to see a bit of themselves in the bus because they have done something similar or wonder if they could.
Anyone who wants to follow Butitta’s road trip can visit www.hankboughtabus.com.
