Every year more and more people are turning to small or tiny homes as a way to reduce their living expenses, minimize their belongings, or discover a more flexible lifestyle. From a material standpoint, these structures can’t help but be more sustainable as they make use of fewer raw materials in construction – most tiny homes are more than 80% smaller than the average 2400 sq. ft. American home. When building a home where every square foot counts, using safe materials becomes a top priority as the impact of indoor air quality can be even more significant in a small, tightly sealed space. This is one of the reasons that Norwich University turned to Vermont Natural Coatings PolyWhey® products when they were specifying finishes for their award winning CASA 802 project.
C.A.S.A. 802, is a modular, tiny house project designed and built by faculty and students from Norwich University’s School of Architecture + Art, David Crawford School of Engineering, and construction management programs. Focusing on sustainability, this structure offers an affordable, modern alternative to mobile homes for young families and can be expanded over time. The goal was to create a beautiful, high quality, and sustainably designed space that could also be a viable affordable housing option. The interior of the home features locally milled lumber and Vermont Natural Coatings PolyWhey Floor and Furniture finishes. When building an energy efficient home, it is essential to consider the toxicity of the products you’ll be using as their effect will be amplified in a more airtight space. Our PolyWhey products are not only manufactured using a sustainable recycled resource (whey protein from cheese making) they also contain no carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxins and some of the lowest VOC levels available in a highly durable finish.
To see other tiny home projects making use of Vermont Natural Coatings follow the links below:
Archistream – mobile design classroom
Earth Morning – a tiny house adventure
Fitnest – Blue Ridge Tiny Homes