The Courtyard Singlewide Duplex

A lot of 55+ communities feature the two bedroom duplex. This keeps home prices down and makes the point that they're intended for empty nesters not families. Now on a sq ft basis, site built is still about double the cost of offsite. As well most duplex communities are very short on outdoor space, let alone outdoor space with privacy. The good news is it just so happens that the singlewide manufactured home, owing to its long, narrow geometry, is readily configured for generous, private courtyards, at very attractive prices such as shown below:

In this design a singlewide 16 ft by 76 ft is divided at the midpoint, forming two units. Windows and doors for each are kept to three sides so that the 'back' remains a solid wall. In this way a private courtyard just off the street can are created. Supplemental storage and work space is set up between the duplex courtyards, each outfitted with outdoor kitchen. Within each unit are two bedrooms interleaved top to bottom in the style of a bunkbed but with each having full privacy in its own space. And speaking of bedrooms where the tiny home awkwardly puts extra sleeping space in a cramped loft, this duplex borrows from a popular European design. The wraparound sofa bank in the living room doubles as sleeping space in this case providing two Twin XL beds. The kitchen and bath space is interleaved front to back for a galley style kitchen with all plumbing connections kept to a common service core. Finally both indoor and outdoor space are designed to work as a whole, fostering the look and feel of cultivated leisure. It is this writer's belief that the manufactured housing industry should appeal to the consumer by way of 'conspicuous leisure' to borrow a term from Thorstein Veblen, leaving to the site built, builder's home all appeals to 'conspicuous consumption'.