The Muir Bus - A Skoolie Conversion
Project Background
Amanda and James were tired of wasting money on rent. On top of that, Anchorage rent is pretty expensive. So they were determined to find an affordable place to call their home. A couple of days before Christmas of 2017, a friend showed them a picture of a bus with “Wanna buy a bus?” written on it.
They named “The Muir Bus” after John Muir who is known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks “. Which I thought was very fitting given that their goal is to see as much of the beautiful land we live in while living and driving the bus.
If you want to read the story of this project, you can read it here.
Preliminary Design
With a couple of help from their friends they ripped out the walls,ceiling and seats. After that, they gave me the measurements of the bus that I used for the initial floor plans. We previously discussed their program so I was able to sketch some ideas based on that.
We went to the site and did a mock-up of the design using chalk lines and 2” painters tape to mimic wall thickness. This step was very important because we were able to confirm some dimensions that needed to be reflected in our drawings.
Finalizing the design
The floor plans for the bus was pretty straight forward. Amanda and James opted to have an aisle in the middle of the space and have the shower and toilet on either side. As a part of finalizing the floor plans, we needed to get the exact dimensions of the furniture and appliances they were going to use. Living in a bus is like a tiny home. Every inch of space is important and at the same time, you need to make sure everything fits.
Our final floor plan was very simple. It addressed the client’s needs and wants. The design started with the wheel wells. Since it was sticking out above the floor, we utilized that area by simply using the space above it as couch (front) and as a spot for the washer and dryer and linen (rear). After establishing those, the floor plan developed itself.
We are constantly updating our portfolio page to reflect our progress. If you want to see more photos & videos, follow @themuirbus and @imperialarchitects.
*As of September 2019, this project was cancelled. Our clients ran into a lot of issues and decided to cancel this project and build a house instead.