A mobile home. Hank bought a bus.

What’s the point of designing homes that exist only on paper, when you can do something real, like converting an old school bus into a small, comfy home and using it for an adventure? This is exactly what American Hank Butitta did after he finished his Masters in architecture.



Downsizing, small is beautiful... these are the new trends of attentive architecture that is edging its way into our everyday lives. Unorthodox projects, often built by the designers themselves, which communicate new ways of thinking and living, in harmony with modern life and constantly on the move but not far from nature.



Hank loves working with his hands and decided to buy an old school bus and convert it into a home of just over 20 square metres, completing it in 15 weeks. He wanted to demonstrate the value of full scale iteration, to explore the potential of materials and to show the importance of actually building a design – aspects that are often underestimated.





The window bays on the bus are evenly spaced, so the volume was broken down into modular units that were then grouped to create four zones: bathroom, kitchen, seating and sleeping.



This was simply a functional grouping and there are no physical restrictions. Hank decided to eliminate any furniture above the bottom edge of the window, emphasising the continuity of the interior space. Flexed plywood was used to create a double wall system that integrates the systems. The floor is reclaimed timber from a gym.





Hank Butitta and his photographer and videographer friend Justin Evendon then set out across the US on a road trip, documenting their journey on their blog. This “Travel Log” talks about their experience and takes Hank’s architectural and design experiment on the road: the best way to spread the idea of micro-architecture and to provide creative input.

Project: Hank Butitta, http://www.hankboughtabus.com
Year: 2013
Location: USA
Photography: Justin Evindon