Bay Area Man's Envisions Small Living Spaces To Relieve Housing Crisis

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A solution to the Bay Area's housing crisis could be inside a man's garage. His vision requires only 64 square feet of living space.

Tim McCormick is building a house inside his friend's garage. It won't exactly be roomy, but it will make a point about how much living space we actually need, and he begins with the standard city parking space.

"And maybe if you develop building methods which center on that, and use that as a unit, that would open up a lot of possibilities," said McCormick, founder of Houslets.

The former software project manager creates what he calls a "houslet" out of commonly available steel posts. Just like an erector set, it becomes an 8-foot cube that can be sided and roofed. And when combined with another, is about the size of a parking space.

"It's not so much tiny units, it's more tiny modules which can be put together in different sizes," McCormick told KPIX 5.

McCormick's idea is more of a concept than an actual product. He believes we need to rethink the 2,000 square foot home with two-car garage, and use vacant city space to give people the affordable option of living small.

"Why is there this crisis? I see all this land, why are we talking about there being nowhere to build and no housing?" he said.

McCormick sees city regulations as the biggest obstacle to change, but he'd like to begin the conversation. He believes there would be plenty of room in the big city if we're willing to downsize our idea of what a house should be.

Mccormick's idea is a finalist in a national grant competition focusing on urban innovation. He is asking for $40,000 to build a finished prototype of his design.