When the Portland Home Builders Association floated the idea of its members helping to improve living spaces for the Kenton Women’s Village in Northeast Portland, Scott Bowles was the first to raise his hand. The 2018 Street of Dreams Home Builder of the Year is one of 15 builders participating in the Pod Build Challenge, led by Anderson Construction, which will expand the village’s capacity to help homeless women make the transition out of temporary housing. The contest charges builders to customize the interiors and exteriors of three different tiny home designs. “This is really about giving people what they need to feel like a person,” Bowles says. “When you see what traumas people on the street are overcoming, it makes you want to do even more.”
Location: N. Columbia Blvd.
Women to be housed: 22
Design types: Modern, hexagon, pop-up
Square footage: 8 ft. x 12 ft.
Residents successfully transitioned: 14
Average resident age: 47.5
Exterior view:
Interior view:
