Jeffrey Commons Tiny Home Community
Presented by Nir Pearlson, AIA and Paul Solomon
1 AIA LU|HSW Available

The Sponsors project is part of a movement to build Tiny Home villages, and is a groundbreaking quest to balance individuality with community, and modesty with abundance. In these places, people will live and interact within a democratic set of cooperative values, and heal from the isolation and alienation of imprisonment. At the same time, each individual home with its full bathroom, kitchen, and complete set of living amenities, will allow residents to gain confidence, independence, and dignity within their safe, private spaces.

Nir Pearlson, AIA, of Aligned Architecture and Paul Solomon of Sponsors, Inc will discuss Jeffrey Commons, a Sponsors Tiny Home Community of 10 homes for homeless individuals returning to Lane County post incarceration.  The presentation will cover the various needs of the inhabitants: Individuality, Community, Affordability and Sustainability and how they were addressed.

Project Owner:  Sponsors, Lane County. Non-Profit organization focused on providing life-changing opportunities for people with criminal histories.

Architect:  Aligned Architecture

Contractors:  Essex Construction / Markus-Thompson Construction

Learning Objective 1:
Participants will learn about the services provided by Sponsors, a local Non-Profit organization focused on providing life-changing opportunities for people with criminal histories. Including: a. Mental health support. b. Substance issues support. c. Vocational training. d. Housing. e. Legal services support.

Learning Objective 2:
Participants will learn how each tiny home was designed to contain all the spaces and amenities to help the residents make the transition to a healthy, independent, and dignified lifestyle, while also providing the support of easy access to their community.

Learning Objective 3:
Participants will learn how the buildings' design incorporated, construction efficiency simple forms, modular dimensions, standard detailing, off-the-shelf components, and durable finishes to help reduce labor, time, and cost, allowing for greater affordability.

Learning Objective 4:
Participants will learn how the project design worked towards a lower energy usage and water conservation to promote sustainability. They will also learn how the small footprints and compact design of tiny homes will save resources during construction, and throughout the building's lifecycle.

Nir Pearlson, AIA

Nir Pearlson is principal and owner of Aligned Architecture, in Eugene. Nir founded the firm in 2003, and has been practicing architecture in Eugene since obtaining his Architectural Degree from the School of Architecture & Allied Arts at the University of Oregon in 1995.

Nir combines years of hands-on construction trades experience and craftsmanship with an artistic attention to composition and detail - always with a focus on simplicity and utility.

With the experiences of living in diverse countries and cultures, Nir seeks to identify the subtle contextual patterns of each site, listens for the hidden narrative within the program, and celebrates the project’s essence through its design.

A people person, Nir believes that the success of each project depends upon establishing lasting partnerships with clients, colleagues, and the greater community.

Paul Solomon is the Executive Director at Sponsor, Inc. in Eugene, Oregon.  Sponsors’ has been providing reentry services to people with criminal histories since 1973.   Mr. Solomon has worked at Sponsors for over 18 years and has served as Executive Director since 2011.   He was instrumental in the development of Sponsors’ 72 bed, $6 million reentry complex that opened in July of 2010 and has recently spearheaded the organization’s successful $9 million campaign to develop a 54-unit apartment complex for people with criminal histories.  Sponsors is recognized in the state of Oregon and nationally as a model for prisoner reentry services. The agency operates 20 buildings on 6 sites with over 220 beds of transitional and long-term housing and ancillary programs for people with criminal histories.

Mr. Solomon serves as the chair of Lane County’s Public Safety Coordinating Council (a regional council that makes public safety policy and funding recommendations) and is the chair of Lane County’s Reentry Task Force. He serves on Oregon’s Governor’s Reentry Council; Oregon’s Joint Interim Task Force on Reentry Employment and Housing; the board of Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation; the Coordinated Health Partnership Advisory Council (co-chair); the Lane County Poverty and Homelessness Board; the Lane County Drug Court Advisory Board; the University of Oregon’s Institutional Review Board; and serves on the National Steering Committee for the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program and many other public safety related boards and committees.