Timber Techtonics
Housing Units
Grant Perry | University of Oregon | Fall 2024
Corvallis, Oregon | Eugene, Oregon
The timber prefabricated emergency shelter provides an immediate, adaptable housing solution for individuals and families displaced by crises. Designed with modularity and comfort in mind, this system offers more than just a place to stay—it serves as a foundation for rebuilding lives and fostering community.
Each shelter begins with a versatile 8’x8’ module, functioning as a bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen. For larger families or evolving needs, the modules can expand into 8x16 units, accommodating diverse household sizes and activities like sleeping, cooking, dining, and working. Privacy, comfort, and flexibility are central to the design, ensuring that each resident feels secure and dignified. This modular system goes beyond individual shelters. Using the same kit of parts, it can be scaled to create essential community spaces such as a dining hall or retail kiosk. These additional structures support communal dining and resource distribution contributing to a thriving, interconnected community.
Over the course of the winter term, I led a team of students in the process of fabricating the individual panels needed for the full scale mock up. As the one with the most on site construction experience, I led instructional demonstrations on how to use tools and equipment while we were using the Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Laboratory at Oregon State University. I additionally developed systems and tools to ensure that each panel was built identically and to the exact specifications.
This project gave me invaluable experience in educating and leading a team during a sophisticated and multifaceted project. There were an incredible number of problems and challenges which required quick and decisive problem solving. Through navigating these issues, I built confidence in my ability to give clear and helpful instruction to team members and assist those who lack experience in the field of fabrication.
assembly diagram
on-site assembly
At the end of the term, I assisted a team in assembling a full scale mock up of one of the housing units. This process proved the feasibility of a number of our theoretical assembly systems and processes. Additionally, I showed us areas of the assembly processes which needed refinement and improvement. This information was incredibly valuable and was eventually synthesized into a report which was submitted for the ACSA 2025 Exhibit Charrette for Communicating Humanitarian Shelter. After the ACSA accepted our bid, I was selected as one of the two students from the UO and OSU cohort to attend and present at the conference in New Orleans in the march of 2025.
construction plan
We created a highly detailed 40 page detailed construction plan to accompany the modular kit. These plans give all the necessary information needed to construct, modify and deconstruct the structures. Everything from site selection and material storage to fabrication and assembly are covered. We took great care to make the plan as detailed as possible while making it easily legible for those who have no prior construction experience. Maintaining this approachability made us take great care in creating simple and straightforward graphics.