Ottawa's Northern Nomad Tiny Home 

A tiny home for the North 

What sets this tiny home apart from many others is that it was built to withstand a frigid climate. The tiny home movement has seen a rise in popularity worldwide, most notably in the United States. In recent years, Canada has witnessed an increase of interest in tiny homes, and groups like the Tiny Town Association have been created.

For the team to build a tiny home in a place like Canada (let alone a net-zero energy tiny home), specific measures need to be put in place to ensure it can perform optimally. Weather is an especially important factor when trying to design a net-zero energy home since much energy is spent to fight against the local climate and condition the interior space.

For a mobile home, in particular, there is a greater surface area to insulate since it is elevated off of the ground. For tiny houses on wheels (THOWs), there is more surface area where air can infiltrate into the interior space, which can have a significant impact in terms of energy. This challenge makes tiny homes arguably more difficult to well-insulate than larger homes.

A distinguishing design feature of the Northern Nomad is the use of vacuum insulated panels (VIPs). While not typically used in traditional architecture, the team wanted to incorporate VIPs to research the correlation between their lifespan and common issues with this material, such as fluctuation in moisture levels. Commonly used for industrial refrigerator lining, VIPs are not a conventional insulation type. However, a single inch of vacuum insulated panel can provide an R-value of R-25 or more-- much higher than traditional insulations. With the combination of VIPs and spray foam insulation, the team was able to achieve an R-value of R-37 in just a 2x4 wall.

A Digital Twin 

One fascinating element of the Northern Nomad project was the ability to create a ‘digital twin’ of the tiny home-- in other words, a digital replica of the real house. Using the BIM software Revit, the team was able to compile one single document that included every single building element. According to Seungyeon, this was a powerful collaborative tool that allowed students from various disciplines to work together.

The home’s digital twin will help to resolve potential maintenance conflicts down the road. To illustrate, if a pipe needs replacement, the digital twin can tell the team exactly where to cut so that other building components such as electrical wiring are not damaged.

The Northern Nomad team came up with a fantastic way to share their designs with others through the use of digital tours. At the bottom of this page, anyone can take a digital tour of the tiny home and learn about the specific design features. This fun, easy interactive tool is powerful for those who want to experience the home without physically visiting in person. The team produced an amazing promotional video using Twinmotion software that provides a compelling overview of the project and its features.