The Vessel units were developed by a China-based company specializing in luxury tourism.
Fulton Road—this past December. Schneider says that since the capsules arrived they have been gaining attention, noting a 130-unit development planned near the Sonoma County Airport, and a 120-unit development proposed in Lake County. Schneider points out that a positive change since the recent wildfires has been the concerted emphasis on making it easier to place small units onto properties. “Senate Bill 1395 is streamlining a lot of the process and allowing for more flexibility flowing through to the counties and the cities,” he says. In fact, they have units available immediately and they’re able to deploy them right away. “We have them here in Fulton,” Schneider says. “If someone in the area wanted to purchase one they could just go there and look and purchase one.” Once a Vessel home is delivered to its site, he says, it only takes a couple of hours to hook it up with washer, dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher and everything ready to move in. “I've always done very complicated business transactions, and this is the simplest,” Schneider says. Big-picture thinking on tiny homes Local architect David Ludwig’s many years of work includes tiny home designs, amidst a portfolio of 500 projects throughout the Bay Area. He says he’s witnessed 50 years of changes with regard to smaller housing options while running his Ludwig Design business.
Ludwig, 80, has downsized his lifestyle to living in a specially designed Airstream travel trailer on property in Sonoma County, and enjoying the freedom it allows. He’s also designed several variations for tiny homes and talks about the many benefits that come with living
in a smaller space, as well as the hoops one must jump through for approval and meeting building code.
Most of Ludwig’s designs throughout his career have been for 2,000- to 3,000-square-foot homes. He says when codes changed with more restrictions on size there was a shift in local architecture to designing small spaces to be as efficient
32 NorthBaybiz
March 2025
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