The 20K House is an ongoing research project that seeks to address the pressing need for decent and affordable housing in Hale County, Alabama. Nearly 30% of individuals here live in poverty. The lack of conventional credit for people with this level of income, and insufficient knowledge about alternative sources of funding, mean that for many people trailers offer the only chance for home ownership. Unlike a house, which is an asset for its owner, trailers deteriorate very quickly and depreciate in value over time. The 20K House project intends to produce a model home that could be reproduced on a large scale, and thereby become a viable alternative to the trailer in this area. The challenge is to build a house for $20,000, $10-12 of which will go towards materials, and the remainder on contracted labor. The project began in 2005, and there have been 9 iterations of the house so far. The pictured model, "Mac's House", is the second model considered to be a viable model, based on its cost and constructability. The team (one Swede, one Brit, and a Baltimorean) focused on potential expandability within the model - creating a core house that can be extended over time to meet the needs of the occupants. PROJECT TEAM Clem Blakemore, Pernilla Hagbert, Will Holman Photo by Timothy Hursley.