For over a decade, several architecture students at Auburn University have worked on a nearly impossible problem. How do you design a home that someone living below the poverty line can afford, but that anyone would want–while also providing a living wage for the local construction team that builds it?
10多年以來，奧本大學的幾個建筑系學生一直在探討一個幾乎不可能解決的問題：如何設計一套生活在貧困線以下的人能買得起，而且每個人都想買，同時能為當地建筑隊提供基本生活工資的房子？

In January, after years of building prototypes, the team finished their first pilot project in the real world. Partnering with a commercial developer outside Atlanta, in a tiny community called Serenbe, they built two one-bedroom houses, with materials that cost just $14,000 each.
經過了幾年的模型構建之后，在一月份，這個團隊完成了他們在現(xiàn)實世界中的第一個試點項目。他們與亞特蘭大以外的一個開發(fā)商合作，在一個被稱為Serenbe的小社區(qū)建造了兩套一居室的房子，而且每套房子的物料成本僅為14000美元。

完整的設想圖：

These architecture students and their advisors have spent more than a hundred thousand hours tweaking each detail of the house to optimize both the function and the price.
這些建筑系的學生及他們的導師用了10萬多個小時微調房子的每一個細節(jié)以優(yōu)化其功能和價格。

The foundation of the house uses cantilevers , seesaw-like joists that help save wood and concrete and actually make the house stronger than a typical foundation would.
這套房子用懸臂以及像蹺蹺板一樣的托梁打地基以便節(jié)省木材和混凝土，而且它們實際上會使房子的地基比一般的房子更結實。

But they also realized there were numerous issues, from dealing with insurance, to the bank. In a typical case, when someone is buying the house on a limited income and can't afford the $20,000, banks won't finance a mortgage for such a small amount of money.
不過，他們也意識到從處理保險到銀行（貸款）等相關事宜存在很多問題。一個典型的例子就是，當某個收入有限且拿不出20000美元的人要買這套房子的時候，銀行不會為這么點錢就為他提供房屋抵押貸款。

Originally, the project aimed for a house that would cost $20,000 in total, including construction, though they now believe that more money may be needed to provide a living wage for builders. They’ve rejected the idea of using factory-made prefab parts, because one of the main goals is to also provide jobs.
最初，這個項目的目標是建這套房子的成本（包括施工費）一共20000美元，不過如今他們認為要為建筑工人提供基本生活工資，建這套房子可能需要更多的錢。他們否決了使用工廠制造的組合式部件，因為這個項目的主要目標之一還要為大家提供工作。

Still, whatever the final cost, it will be cheap. And if someone wants to put it together themselves, it would cost less than $20,000.
不論最終成本是多少，它還是便宜的。如果有人想自己組裝，其成本可能還會低于20000美元。
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（翻譯：Dlacus）