While wandering around the fields and forests of Virginia, I came across a dilapidated old house, built around 1900, of a simple and archetypal design. After I passed through the open front door and scared off an enormous buzzard living inside, I took detailed notes about the dimensions, and couldn't help but wonder if somebody would ever hire me to design such an elegant little house.

The answer: probably not. It's a shame, but architects design only a very tiny fraction of all houses built in the US, and those typically belong to a wealthy elite. Knowing firsthand the frustration of homelessness, I want to give anybody the chance to build a small, humble house that can grown over time.

Also, from an educational perspective, I think it's important to show students, as well as the clients of architects, what it means to create a set of architectural drawings. What needs to be drawn in order for a simple house to be built? Without an exemplary set of drawings, it is hard to understand the scope of what architects should do. How would a student know how to elaborate on their designs? And how would a client understand if their architect is doing work of sufficient detail and competence? We cannot expect textbooks and blogs to supply these answers. We need functional examples as well.

So I'm creating a set of architectural drawings for this simple, humble house. I'm formatting everything to fit on 11x17 sheets so that it would be easier to print out, hold in your hands, or mount onto a wall. I'm posting the CAD file online, free or charge, so that anybody can modify it, or perhaps use it as a template for another design. And it will not be copyrighted, but instead placed under a Creative Commons license, the same as Wikipedia. These drawings are free.

If you want to help out with this project, please let me know. I've never designed anything like it, and will probably need plenty of help along the way. Thanks.