October 5, 2020 Brackney Puts Studies to Work, Transforms a Bus Into His Home

Caleb Brackney, a student in our Master of Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture dual degree program, put his education, skills, ingenuity and creativity to practice to design and build a unique home for himself and his dog, Ivy. He calls it “The Roamer.”

Written by Brooks Clark

UT graduate student Caleb Brackney bought a Thomas International school bus on Facebook Marketplace last summer for $3,000, spent another $7,000 to turn it into a tiny house on wheels, parked it on his parents’ five acres in north Knoxville, and took up residence with his goldendoodle Ivy, who spends her days running back and forth looking out of the 26 windows.

Brackney, a dual architecture/landscape architecture master’s student, started UT’s four-year master’s program in the College of Architecture and Design in 2018. “I thought landscape architecture was only aesthetics,” he says, “but UT expanded my vision toward the cultural implications of landscape architecture, including regional thinking to create richer ecosystems that benefit the environment and individuals.”

Through the front door of his converted tiny home, you enter into the kitchen, which leads to a seven-foot bar where Brackney can eat and do homework. This leads to a living area with a couch and a TV, then on to the bedroom, with the bathroom in the back. “I modified the back door as a shower access, so I can wash Ivy or rinse off a bike without worrying about dirt getting inside….”

Read the full story to learn more about Caleb and what inspired him. Plus take a tour of the Roamer Bus in this video.

Photos and details of the conversion are available on Brackney’s Instagram (@roamerbus) account.