We here at cityLAB were curious about whether there are tiny houses in the Pittsburgh area. The short answer is not really, at least not like the kind we’re building in Garfield. As just about any research project begins these days, we Googled. Searching “Pittsburgh tiny houses” grabs about 1,280,000 results; our blog was the first hit. (Go, us!) But from there, there’s a website called Tiny House Listings where you can search tiny houses (and trailers) for sale by state. There aren’t a ton in PA to begin with and a lot of them are in rural towns with names you’ve probably never heard. Plus, some of the posts date back a couple years and it’s unclear if they’ve been sold or are still on the market.
Anyway, even though most of Pittsburgh is rather new to the tiny house phenomenon, there’s still evidence that some locals have been aware of it for some time. Someone at TechShop in East Liberty has done 3D printings (pictured above) of designs from from Dan Louche of Tiny Home Builders. A cool couple from Brookline has put their backyard up for rent to anyone who wants to park their tiny house there for a period of time. Lastly, Lawrencevillers (or is it Lawrencevillians?) Heather Mallak and Dror Yaron added a 40-foot cargo container to their skinny Lower Lawrenceville row house. Though not a stand alone house, the inside space is somewhat similar to tiny houses.
Downsized living spaces are starting to crop up in nearby cities as well. Here’s a concept from a local firm, Fisher Architects, for a shed reimagined as a couple’s weekend home near Oil City, PA, about 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh. In Canal Winchester, southeast of Columbus, OH, there’s a pretty cool tiny house as well. (Exterior above, interior below.) Of course, you can always take a tour of Boneyard Studio’s group of tiny houses in Washington, D.C., as we’ve mentioned before. Lastly, in Kennett Square, just outside of Philadelphia, Janice Kenney is living in her 140-square-foot abode, which has helped to energize the tiny house community in the City of Brotherly Love.
Did we miss any tiny houses in the Steel City? Are there any that are being built? Let us know.