Community First! Village

Described as a “tiny home village just outside of Austin, Texas,” Community First! Village represents an unprecedented and ongoing success story in addressing homelessness in Central Texas. Originally situated on 27 acres of vacant land with a dubious past (it had been used as a dumping ground for stolen vehicles), its footprint has rapidly expanded to 51 acres with two additional sites in the works. 

The community, which opened in 2015, is made up of tiny homes, RVs, and 3D-printed houses for formerly homeless residents. The wayfinding program comprises simple form factors with heavy timber supports evocative of existing common area structures. Resident-produced decorative tiles cap the structures and the palette reflects the brand colors of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, the parent organization. 

We also worked with staff to develop design and implementation standards that allow them to largely maintain the system themselves. The system not only welcomes and orients visitors and family members to the community, it assists up to 200 volunteers each day self-navigate to parking and key destinations for engaging with residents.