Kaw House is a compact, high-performance, hybrid mass timber supportive housing prototype designed to assist members of our community transitioning from homelessness to stable and dignified living. Developed as the second collaboration with Tenants to Homeowners, the project builds upon earlier work while advancing new construction methods and environmental performance standards.

Kaw House marks the first use of mass plywood panel (MPP) construction in the state of Kansas. The home combines prefabricated light wood-frame exterior wall panels—with integrated continuous insulation and rigorous air-sealing—with a mass plywood panel wall and roof structure. This hybrid approach accelerates construction, reduces embodied carbon, and achieves a highly insulated, air-tight building envelope. A durable fiber cement board and wood rainscreen, paired with standing seam panels, clads the exterior, reinforcing longevity and low maintenance.

The interior is organized around a tall living room volume with south-facing glazing, protected by a brise soleil, and north-facing clerestory windows that introduce balanced daylight deep into the space. A mass plywood panel wall anchors the living room and kitchen and extends through the home as a continuous MPP “spine”, guiding occupants past the bathroom to a quiet bedroom at the rear. A protected exterior patio extends the living space outdoors.

Exposed mass plywood ceilings in the living room and bedroom celebrate the warmth and tactility of wood, while dropped ceilings in the kitchen and bath conceal an energy recovery ventilator, water heater, and other components of the high-efficiency systems. A mini-split heat pump provides all heating and cooling.

Like its predecessor, Phoenix House, Kaw House is conceived as a repeatable, durable, and uplifting model—demonstrating that affordable housing can be beautiful, resilient, and restorative.