This project began as a response to Ann Arbor’s increasingly inaccessible housing costs. Instead of searching for an apartment I couldn’t afford, I set out to design a personal, mobile living space that could offer stability, independence, and a sense of home. The first ideas took shape in cardboard prototypes, small enough to test spatial logic but large enough to imagine myself inside them. Through three rounds of CAD modeling, the form gradually evolved into a compact structure that balanced function, durability, and comfort.
The final build uses a lightweight 2×2 frame coated with an approachable “poor man’s fiberglass” skin, finished in white with black trim to emphasize clarity and simplicity. Inside, warm wood paneling contrasts the exterior’s utilitarian aesthetic, creating a retreat-like interior. Reclaimed cabinetry and a secondhand butcher-block countertop anchor the space in principles of reuse and resourcefulness. A 400-watt solar system powers lighting, a TV, and a laptop, enabling off-grid living without sacrificing basic modern needs.
More than a shelter, this camper is a story about agency—about building an alternative when conventional options fall out of reach. It stands as a small, self-contained argument that thoughtful design can create new forms of autonomy in challenging environments.
