An Architecture Folk Hero Is Born: 16-Year-Old Builds His Own Portable House

It’s been too long since we’ve had an “architecture in hard times” folk hero. There was John Morefield, the unemployed architect who would shell out building and design advice for five cents a pop, but we haven’t really heard much out of him since early last year. Fortunately, California-based teenager Austin Hay has entered the picture. The 16-year-old has been building a tiny home on wheels all by himself in his parents’ backyard, using materials “acquired