The Current Residency
To date, our founder, TK Devine, has lived full-time in the porta-home for well over a year, taking up residency on a backyard in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.
This longterm pilot residency allows the OBH team to meticulously evaluate and improve the prototype's performance in multi-season conditions. As a matter of course, the residency has allowed the OBH team to update and retrofit the home as the residency progresses, creating what has essentially become a "prototype 2.0".
An additional aspect of the residency includes property beautification, establishing a symbiotic relationship between resident and property host, in which both parties benefit from the presence of an OBH home. We hope to replicate that type of relationship when we launch the program.
Devine and OBH are working on publishing a live blog to document the experience, but for now updates are available on Devine's Instagram page with highlights posted here and on Youtube.
Early Residencies
Living in a working prototype is very much a learning experience. Shown here is a video summary of TK's first porta-home residency. Watch the progression of the porta-home-related activity captured on video. Click on TK Devine's Porta-Home Playlist Channel for mini episodes of each phase of the progression, starting with the first visit to the PolyJohn factory.
OBH Showcases
on LA Mayor
Eric Garcetti's Lawn
OBH was showcased as the featured installation at the 2019 Engage LA event centered on the local housing crisis. Our prototype sat on the driveway of the Mayor's official residence as key stakeholders addressed a sizeable crowd of Angelenos on the state of housing in the city--and how organizations like OBH can help.
OBH a Finalist for the 2019 LA County Housing Innovation Challenge
OBH was one of 11 finalists for the LA County's open challenge for housing innovation, narrowly missing out on a $500,000 grant to address homelessness and affordable housing in the metro area.
While we were not awarded the winning grant, members of the selection committee were careful to encourage OBH to continue pursuing housing innovation. We intend on accepting that challenge and fighting on for funding to address our local housing crisis with our community-based solution for sustainable, affordable housing.
OBH Featured
at the 2018 People's
Tiny House Festival
Lead Builder Nate Steigenga and Founder TK Devine made their way to Colorado Springs, CO, to feature the porta-home prototype at its first national event, the 2018 Peoples Tiny House Festival on the Air Force Academy Campus.
The pair exhibited for thousands of attendees, providing in addition to a keynote address and panel presentation an informative look at the grounds' only truly off-grid living space.
Not only was the festival a hit, the roundtrip drive to Colorado gave the team valuable insight to the portability of the home and opportunities for improvements for future models.