In his final semester of architecture school, graduate student Hank Butitta grew tired of completing conceptual projects that only existed on paper and decided to bring an assignment to life. With this drive, Butitta impulsively bought a school bus off of Craigslist for $3,000 with the intention of redesigning it into a mobile home for his final project. The idea gained traction and the support of professional architects and instructors, prompting the ambitious architect to actually transform the vehicle.
After 15 grueling weeks of planning and physical labor, Butitta managed to redesign the ordinary school bus with the help of his brother, Vince, and his photographer friend Justin Evidon. The compact space uses modular units, allowing it to feature everything from a living area, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, work space, and room for storage. Besides creating an open space to keep from feeling restricted and confined, the clever architect also sought to create a continuous, linear feel by lining the interior with plywood flexed by compression and stripped gym floorings.
Now that Butitta has completed his school bus home, he has embarked on a 5,000-mile journey across the nation. The traveling architect is currently documenting his adventure through a daily travel log on his website to keep record of the bus's progress and possible limitations, in order to improve on his design.
