Project Clearinghouse

Pallet Palace

Sustainability Problem and Proposed Solution: 

Construction traditionally uses a disproportionately high amount of virgin resources which often travel long distances and require intensive processing, contributing to carbon emissions. At the same time, Santa Cruz and many other places are facing an unprecedented housing crisis, leaving many homeless or struggling to survive. By incorporating waste products like pallets into our houses and keeping their size small, we can provide affordable housing while decreasing our carbon footprint.

Jump to: Contact | Project Description | Funding Sources | How to Join | Metrics for Success | Results
Project Categories: 
Buildings & Facilities
Awareness, Education & Engagement
Waste & Recycling
Project Status: 
In Progress
Project End Date: 
06/18/2022
(estimated)
Campus Organization: 
College Eight Sustainability Minor
Affiliated Department, Unit or College: 
Rachel Carson College
Project Location: 
Both on and off campus

VARF Building Courtyard


Stakeholder Contacts: 
Contact NameEmail AddressContact NumberDepartment
Eli Nygren
enygren@ucsc.edu
303 818 2963
Physics
Thomas Rettenwender
thomas@ecologicdesignlab.com
831 920 8333
Architect
Sue Carter
sacarter@ucsc.edu
831 331 1050
Rachel Carson College
How to Join: 
If you are involved with an organization who benefits those in desperate need of housing (homeless, struggling veterans, etc.) please reach out to us to discuss if our housing model could fit your needs. We will be looking for such an organization to donate the building itself, but; moreover, we hope to share our methodology and get these same people building their own future houses, while simultaneously developing great skills. If interested, please contact Eli Nygren at enygren@ucsc.edu (303 818 2963). We would love to hear from you.
Funding Sources: 
Carbon Fund

Project Description: 

We will first establish a supply chain for obtaining pallets. Primarily, we will be working with the physical sciences shipping and receiving for these, and have already begun this process. Students, led by a licensed architect, will design the house to allow for use of pallets. A crucial aspect of the design is the ability to assemble the structure easily from modular components. Students are currently working on this and will finish by the end of Winter Quarter 2020 (March 20th). Construction of the house components will begin April 2020, according to the design agreed upon by students and instructors. This will be a somewhat iterative process, since pallets are a naturally inconsistent product. Following the Scrum-Agile framework, we will build a few parts of the house at a time, assembling them periodically, to test our methods. Construction of the basic structure of the house will be completed by early June 2020. For students enrolled in the course in spring 2020, the final deliverable (besides building a house) is a construction manual for the house. This manual will provide all the information needed for somebody with no prior knowledge, and potentially limited tools, to build a house just like ours. We see this as the most important product to come out of our project, because it is something that will enable people in need to replicate the process. In the case of housing the homeless, it can be a double victory since people can gain a house to live in as well as valuable and marketable skills if they assist in its construction. Students will also host an instructional outreach event in June 2020 in which they will demonstrate the features and assembly process of the house to the campus community. Beginning Fall Quarter 2020 we will make exact decisions about interior finishes and potential recipients of the house. This process will involve showcasing our method to interested groups.

Metrics for Success: 

Waste diversion will be calculated by keeping a count of how many pallets of each size we have built into our house. By weighing each pallet type, we will obtain a weighted average over all pallets used. Multiplying this by the total number will give us the pallet waste diverted. The amount of any other waste material we are able to utilize will be determined in much the same way.

On a higher level, success will be measured by how many people and organizations this method reaches. Resource savings and their associated carbon reduction are essentially multiplied by the number of these houses built because of our project. If this greater goal can be realized, the ultimate measure of success is how many people are now housed who previously were not.

Next Steps: 
Building the house itself. Writing a construction manual to document our methods.
Result Categories: 
Infrastructure/Built Environment
Education/Outreach
Results: 

Students and faculty alike are invited to attend the assembly demonstration at the end of Spring Quarter 2020. While this is very informative, it will not directly create housing on campus. That being said, we hope that the exposure this brings to the project will elicit the development of some similar form of affordable eco housing on campus.