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ALL OF RURAL STUDIO’S NEWS FROM HALE COUNT Y
2018–2019
BORN IN NEWBERN
DESIGNED IN BHAM
PRINTED IN OPELIKA
VOL. 8
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The best way to learn how to do something is by actually doing it. Rural Studio students strive to be both rigorous and thoughtful. Their design proposals reflect the knowledge built carefully over time, knowledge inspired by our neighbors and our community. Through our community-centered approach to research and development, we are determined to be a positive and creative voice toward a more dignified, vibrant, and sustainable future for the rural South.
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THE NEWBERN TIMES, VOL. 8
02
LET TER FROM THE DIRECTOR
25 YEARS & COUNTING
I write to you after a year once again back in the saddle as Director of Rural Studio, having previously enjoyed the luxury of twenty-two months away. My time away confirmed just how extraordinary it was that Sambo Mockbee and DK Ruth dreamed up the Studio 26 years ago. Our job remains providing a safe and nurturing place for young architects to learn their trade and leave this place a little better than they found it. The first year away was a sabbatical to refresh my old bones after 16 years at the Studio. The second year was to challenge my mind: I was afforded the great privilege of pursuing a Loeb Fellowship during the 2017-18 academic year at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. I am very grateful to my colleagues at Auburn for allowing me the opportunity to reflect and learn over the last two years. In particular, I want to thank Dean Vini Nathan for her support. Of course, I am most grateful to Acting Director Xavier Vendrell and Associate Director Rusty Smith, who maintained the operation and management of the Studio in my absence. They did a great job, and I will forever be grateful to them. This last year has been a provocative one, and the Loeb Fellowship already feels like a lifetime ago! The annual Fellowship is offered to folks around the world that have had a significant impact on the built environment. My cohort of nine contained planners, architects, teachers, writers, artists, and a retailer, with their bases in many countries around the world. The Fellowship offered unlimited access to all classes at Harvard and MIT. My program of study at Harvard was to develop the 20K Project and to push it beyond just academic research. But the greatest part of the experience was my exceptional colleagues. Over the past year, connections I made came to fruition, with folks visiting and making significant contributions to the Studio. Perhaps the biggest of these contributions came from a colleague at the Fellowship, Johanna Gilligan, founder and former Executive Director of Grow Dat Youth Farm in New Orleans, LA, who consulted with us toward developing the Rural Studio Farm. With Johanna’s guidance, we were able to give the Farm much needed resources. Eric, Rural Studio’s farmer, has devised a no-till strategy for our soil which, it turns out, is contemporary wisdom for the best way to do intensive small-scale row cropping. Johanna, along with Kyle Platt, who runs BDA Organic Farm (recently opened down the road from Newbern), became Eric’s consultant and mentor. In the spring, another cultural sea change took place. We started to ask every student at Rural Studio to put 10-15 hours per semester into the Farm: to seed, plant, and harvest what we produce. So now, every day, Chef Cat is cooking or preserving vegetables that we produce. We think we are the only school of architecture in the world that, out of necessity to feed itself good fresh local vegetables, is running its own farm! On top of that, this spring, Elena Barthel, the originator of the Farm idea, returned to Newbern and completed the greenhouse to 95%. Another, more direct result of my Loeb year is the new research partnership with McGill University. Salmaan Craig, an aerodynamics engineer, and Kiel Moe, an architect/researcher and writer, proposed working with Rural Studio to scale up their ideas about using a mass timber wall, which uses locally sourced wood as a heat exchanger. The relationship has led Sal and Kiel to working directly with one of this year’s 5th-year teams, which has become the first project for our new master’s program. This particular project’s focus will not be in a large public building project but more appropriately in a body of transferable, publishable scientific research that can be part of a public global discourse. This represents a real paradigm shift for the Studio, as the graduate students can be held to a higher research standard than the leftover “volunteer students.” Other major Loeb relationships have brought resources to contribute in our housing research. James Shen, another Loeb Fellow from People’s Architecture in China, created Plugin House, which he is currently prototyping. The house can be put together in a few hours and is made with super-insulated prefabricated lock-together panels that are normally used for refrigeration. Jimmy wants to try a small housing unit in our humid climate, so he gave us one to test! Students back home in Newbern have been incredibly productive as well. We have finished three projects: one by our 3rd-Year Studio and two by 5th-year teams. The 3rd-years, steered by Emily McGlohn and Alex Therrien, built a house for Mrs. Patrick, Boochies’ momma. The house is a modified version of Mac’s Home from the 20K Product Line, complete with a screened-in porch and side entrance. In Faunsdale, “leftover” 5th-year students completed
Big Cheese Andrew Freear
Production Natalie Butts-Ball
the town’s new community center. The opening in March Stagg, we borrowed Meghan Walsh from USDA Rural was as much a celebration of the students’ hard work and Development, and we were able to hire Chris Herbert from their fine project as it was for our community partner, the the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, one of the Faunsdale Foundation, for their dedication and commit- United States’ foremost experts in the cost and financing ment to the project. of housing. In addition, the PAIR allowed us the opporMost recently, students completed the 20K mod- tunity to partner with three faculty from the College of el-home version of Dave’s Home and the new modified Liberal Arts and two additional faculty from the College version, 20K Dave’s Revised Home. The student team of Architecture, Design and Construction. and their project epitomize the rigorous scientific testing In other staff news, Gayle Etheridge our long-serving and feedback we need if we are going to make any impact office manager and Morrisette House den-mother, retired with these small, affordable homes. last Christmas. We are already missing her. Alex Therrien We are also looking forward to seeing the completed has also moved on. As a student, he worked on the beaufruits of our first partnership with Project Horseshoe Farm tiful Shade Pavilions project in Lions Park and then stayed and its Executive Director—the force of nature, Doctor on as the 3rd-year instructor, surviving being sidekick to John Dorsey. We hope the Horseshoe Farm Hub Court- both Jake LaBarre and Emily McGlohn! yard and the Horseshoe Homes projects will be the first In local news, Newbern Mercantile owners Mary two of many to support this groundbreaking approach to Catherine and Todd, with Caitlin and trusty cook care in the rural community. Bessie, continue to work their tails off. At the Post Office, As for current work, we will be completing projects our friend Ashley Williams moved on to Moundville Post both near and not-so-near to Newbern in the next few Office. Newbern’s BIG news is that we now have coffee months. One is a 20K home for our neighbor, Ann, who and tea three days a week in downtown. So now you can lives within spitting distance of Red Barn. Meanwhile in have a gorilla burger at the Merc and wash it down with Moundville, we are testing a new long-term partnership three shots of caffeine at Sweet Briar coffee bar! with the University of Alabama. They have invited us to Our community initiatives in Greensboro continue to build a community pavilion in Moundville Archaeological quietly thrive. But, the saddest news of the year was the Park, and, as you can imagine, it is a huge privilege to make loss of the Safe House Black History Museum doyenne, an intervention in a place of such historic significance. Theresa Burroughs, who left us her 89-year legacy on May This fruitful year was topped off with an exhausting 21, 2019. Theresa was a standard-bearer for us all, someone but exhilarating Pig Roast 25th Anniversary Celebration who fought the quiet fight for all of us to have the right that toured twelve projects, driving over one hundred miles to vote. Another Theresa, Theresa Davis, is serving as the on a stunningly beautiful late April day. The Mockbee museum’s new executive director. Finally, I want to address our ongoing commitment and Ruth families were in attendance and the event was rounded off with a valediction speech by our friends, the to the place. We are in the process of receiving several generous and erudite architects of the Obama Library in gifts from the Walthall family—the Red Barn (our stuChicago, IL, Billie Tsien and Tod Williams. dio), the grey thesis barn, and the woodshop—securing As we go forward, it’s clear that Rural Studio is a these iconic Newbern buildings. In doing so, we wish to global representative and mouthpiece for rural concerns maintain Rural Studio’s presence in, and commitment to, and issues. With climate change and its associated extreme downtown Newbern for years to come. weather events likely to change the nature of farming and This latest newsletter was designed by Tatum Design, further the fragility of rural areas and their economies, out of Birmingham, AL. They have also developed a beauthe future role of “the rural” in society and rural life will tiful new website for Rural Studio and the Front Porch Inicontinue to be in question. We must continue to cultivate tiative and refreshed our branding. The Red Barn, and the the Rural Studio community, to maintain our deep affinity representative spirit and ethic of these buildings, will play for the land and its people, to work with and care for our a big part in that brand strategy. It has, after all, become neighbors, and to use what we have learned for the benefit part of the Studio DNA. of those local and farther afield. As you can see, there is a lot going on and a lot of In the last year, we have taken major leaps in two of work to be done. That’s all for now. these areas. At home we started a graduate program, which fundamentally is to try to give our leftover 5th-years some credit for all the extra hours they spend on projects. The Respectfully yours, hope is to try to make longer projects more sustainable for both our students and the Studio. The program will also allow us to host a small group of external non-Auburn students who will focus on rural housing issues—a little bit like the model of the former Outreach program. The program can also receive more resources for teaching, and we can get credit for the extra teaching we have already been doing. What we hope is that everyone will win: students, projects, and Rural Studio resources. At a regional and national scale, we are making leaps and bounds with the Front Porch Initiative, pushing the 20K Project beyond student research, which means testing it and developing it in the real world. There is huge interest in the challenge of rural housing affordability and the lack thereof, and we have taken on multiple amazing partners that began with Fannie Mae. Since then Kaiser Permanente, USDA Rural Development, and Wells Fargo Bank have come on board. We also currently have half-adozen small-scale rollout test partners across the Southeast. The biggest change out of all these shenanigans has been the re-branding of this new external arm of the Studio Johnny Parker from the 20K Initiative to the Front Porch Initiative. We MARCH 14, 1960 – SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 believe that the Front Porch Initiative name emotionally At the time of printing this newsletter, we lost one embodies everything that is good in fully executed housing of our family. Johnny Parker, our dear friend and that is also affordable. colleague, passed away. He was doing what he Perhaps the biggest acknowledgement of our progloved to do; fixing stuff, with his dog, Boo Boo, ress came from our own University and former President by his side. He died naturally, and it would appear Leath. Rural Studio won the largest award in the Presivery quickly, without suffering. We are devastated dent’s University-wide call for collaborative research proby this loss and we will miss him beyond measure. posals, named the Presidential Award for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) Grant. We hired old friend Mackenzie
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Printing Opelika Auburn News
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RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS
IN THE BOOKS 20K Dave’s Revised Home, a research project in Newbern, Alabama, and a new community center for Faunsdale, Alabama were celebrated this year.
Photo by: Timothy Hursley
20K DAVE’S REVISED HOME
FAUNSDALE COMMUNITY CENTER
STUDENT TEAM Chelsea Elcott, Kenny Fallon, Michael Kelly, & Sarah Curry
STUDENT TEAM
The 22nd version of the 20K Project was a research-based experiment. The project team completed the construction of a Baseline Home, Dave’s Model Home, and became intimately familiar with its details and design. They then analyzed and evaluated each material assembly to balance its up-front cost with its long-term savings. This process would allow for a new iteration of that Baseline Home to be not only affordable to build but also affordable to live in. The new iteration, the Revised Home, was also designed to meet a resiliency standard in order to lower the monthly home insurance bill. Following a lengthy, evidence-based design phase, the team then constructed the Revised Home. To test the effectiveness of their proposal, the team placed thermal performance sensors on the exterior and interior, and within the various material assemblies of each house. Finally, the team occupied both houses for four months to better understand their differences. Two members lived in each house for two weeks at a time and then swapped houses. In the alternate two weeks, the houses were switched from being mechanically heated and cooled to being passively heated and cooled, so they could be analyzed in both conditions. The team then studied the data collected from the occupancy test phase, both qualitative and quantitative. Rural Studio will use conclusions drawn from this research to inform future projects. The research will continue after this student team leaves because the houses will continue to be inhabited and the data harvested. The project is a statement of our commitment to post occupancy and performance house research. The team completed their work in July and we plan to formally celebrate their work this fall.
Faunsdale, Alabama, is a small town located fourteen miles south of Rural Studio’s Newbern headquarters. The Faunsdale Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and promoting the historic and cultural heritage of Faunsdale, approached Rural Studio to help transform one of the oldest buildings in the downtown into a new community center. Originally a doctor’s office, and then later City Hall, the 1905 building has been adapted and given a new life as the Faunsdale Community Center. The Foundation hopes the new space will strengthen and empower the community by providing new resources such as high-speed internet access and opportunities for new programs like after-school tutoring and music classes. The existing floor and roof needed to be replaced, but much of the heartwood pine flooring and ceiling joists were salvageable and reused in the design. The salvaged lumber was judged to be twice as strong as dimensional lumber sold today. In order to accommodate the ideal square footage for a new community center, three of the four walls were kept as a shell, allowing the completely new, independent structure to be extended to the rear.
Anna Daley, Grant Wright, Jenny Lomas, & John Sydnor
The interior of the building is open plan, easily changed by furniture to adapt to the programming needs of the center. The new rear wall is composed of glass, creating both a visual and physical connection to the courtyard beyond. The courtyard acts as an extension of the building itself, allowing the two to be used as one large flexible room. The street facing façade accommodates the building’s necessities— a kitchenette, a restroom, and an HVAC system—as well as a small, intimate alcove that looks out onto the sidewalk. On March 3rd, 2019, we celebrated the grand opening of the new Faunsdale Community Center with the Faunsdale Foundation, the Town of Faunsdale, students, parents, donors, and friends! WHERE ARE THEY NOW? SARAH CURRY began her one-year term this summer as the newly elected President of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), a national, student-run organization dedicated to advancing leadership, design, and service among students. MICHAEL KELLY just moved to New York City to start working with the Manhattan-based architectural office of Cicognani Kalla. KENNY FALLON will join Community Rebuilds as an AmeriCorps VISTA. He’ll move to Moab, UT, where he will be the planning and development coordinator. CHELSEA ELCOTT just got hired by Rural Studio to work with Emily McGlohn teaching our 3rd-year students.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ANNA DALEY headed out west to San Diego, CA, and is working with ARCHITECTS hanna gabriel wells, and only a block from the beach! GRANT WRIGHT is working in Birmingham, AL, at LIVE Design Group. JENNY LOMAS is in Nashville, TN, working with Johnson Johnson Crabtree Architects and skating with the Nashville Rollergirls. JOHN SYDNOR moved to San Francisco, CA, and is working with Walker Warner Architects.
THE NEWBERN TIMES, VOL. 8
04
3RD-YEAR CLASSES
3RD-YEARS As part of the 3rd-year program of study, the legendary Steve Long continues to run his very successful chair class: nine years and over 100 hand-crafted chairs at the last count. Another part of the 3rd-Year Studio is a class taught by Dick Hudgens, who is still pumping out watercolors and dragging and cajoling young folks across Alabama, offering a brilliant lesson in the longevity and sustainability of wood structures.
HISTORY & WATERCOLOR INSTRUCTOR Dick Hudgens
This history and theory seminar familiarizes the students with the built environment in Alabama’s Black Belt. It communicates the national and international context of wooden buildings—the physical, social, and cultural environments—when they were built and how they relate to the world today. They study how wooden buildings have survived so long (raised off the ground out of the water with big overhanging roofs), how they were naturally ventilated (with narrow plans, good cross ventilation, high ceilings, operable transom windows, and porches that shaded the building), and how they gave human comfort (the great porches). Students travel weekly to historic wood buildings in West Alabama, then discuss and free hand sketch each building. Student work culminates in a “Beaux Arts” watercolor of a historic wood building in the Black Belt. AWARDS
Fall Semester 2018: Tanner Harden Spring Semester 2019: Hilary Bird
CHAIR MAKING CLASS INSTRUCTOR Steve Long
Students in this furniture-making course acquire solid woodworking by developing and designing the process of recreating iconic Modernist architect designed chairs through research, drawing, modeling, and building. The final products are extensive drawings, jigs, mock-ups, and the actual reproduction of the chair. By removing the design of the object from the process, the students focus on construction technique and craft. They acquire a greater understanding of the properties of wood by using only hand tools: we don’t use CNC routers or digital technology. The challenge is to craft by hand and to “feel” the material. AWARDS
Fall Semester 2018: Jean Prouve Standard Chair by Rebecca Wiggs, Reed Klimoski, Thomas Reutlinger Spring Semester 2019: Charles Rennie Mackintosh Ingram Chair by Hilary Bird, Zach Coffey, George Slaughter
The challenge is to craft by hand and to “feel” the material.
3RD-YEAR STUDIO
COMING HOME Our lovely Newbern neighbor Mrs. Patrick has a new home! Over two semesters, Assistant Professor Emily McGlohn and Instructor Alex Therrien led 26 students to design and build a modified version of 20K Mac’s Home, a design from the 20K Produce Line Homes. FALL 2018 Addie Harchelroad, Alex Hamady,
Ashley Dehne, Becca Wiggs, Jonathan Grace, Judith Seaman, Krista Weiss, Lorenzo Herrera, Nesi Ozako, Reed Klimoski, Tanner Harden, Tom Reutlinger, Victor Bufano, Xiao Boyu, Yoon Dong Kyu SPRING 2019 Dylan Braziel, George Slaughter,
Elsa Leonard, Hilary Bird, Madeline Ray, Noah Jones, Paul Fallin, Riley Boles, Rebecca Kravec, Zach Barber, Zach Coffey
This year 3rd-Year Studio examined how a 20K Home could be adapted to meet Fair Housing Act (FHA) size requirements, set to make rooms navigable to people who use wheelchairs or walkers. Also, this project looked at how the house could be designed to share outside space with an existing house on the property, made the porch more comfortable when the mosquitos abound, and improved ventilation. To accommodate the FHA requirements, the team expanded the Mac’s Home design, adding 12” of space to both the bedroom and the bathroom, increasing the width of the home from 16’ to 18’. The increased width required a new structural system: an extra-strong flooring system using engineered lumber and a 36’-long laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beam as a girder spanning the house’s entire length. This version of the Home moved the back door to the south end to open onto the shared space between houses; the door placement has the extra benefit of making a house addition easier to plan in the future. This design also added screening to the now-larger porch to minimize mosquitos. To encourage passive ventilation, this design iteration raised the ceiling to 9’6” to accommodate operable transom windows above the front and back doors and included double-hung fiberglass windows throughout.
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THE NEWBERN TIMES, VOL. 8
06
PROFILES
SPOTLIGHTS and having to wait on him. The walls with their peeling plaster, the antebellum architecture, and the faded furniture made me feel like I had stepped back in time. There was a huge, ornate wood chair with torn upholstery in his office. Later I learned it was a chair his grandfather had owned. After his death in 2001, I had a dream about Sambo. He was sitting in that chair and reassuring me that everything was going to be fine. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB? I enjoy getting to know the students and helping them to understand how to follow the University spending policies on their project. Most have never lived in a small, rural town, have never balanced a checkbook. So it is definitely a learning process to understand invoices, vouchers, requisitions, and tax-exempt purchases. TELL ABOUT YOUR INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF WORK. Genealogy, traveling, reading. My main goal in genealogy is to compile information so my son Warren Aubrey and my niece Heather know who their ancestors are. And I want to travel to those ancestral places in Nashville and Charleston. I love nothing more than a good road trip. WHAT’S WARREN AUBREY UP TO THESE DAYS? Warren Aubrey joined the US Army and went to basic training in January 2017. He has been stationed at Fort Drum with the 10th Mountain Division since June 2017. His friends in other divisions have already been deployed, and he is ready to go his turn, hoping he gets deployed in 2020. He loves what he is doing.
BRENDA WILKERSON Staf f Profile Greensboro native and local weather expert, Brenda Wilkerson has managed payroll and procurement accounts for Rural Studio since 2001. She and Johnny Parker were two of Sambo’s most inspired hires. With humor and good spirit, she helps students maintain tight budgets and assists with the purchasing process when they need materials for projects and at the same time need to give the impression to the grown-ups at the university that we are on top of it all.
ANDREW SAYS YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO RETIRE…. BUT IS IT
Don’t stay in the studio all the time. Find out what makes this place special. This time in your life will pass so quickly. Savor every day. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE RS PROJECT? Some projects I love for the students who built them and who became my friends. So it’s impossible to pick a favorite. I will say one of my favorite locations is Perry Lakes Park. All four projects there are fantastic. WHO HAS BEEN THE ABSOLUTE BEST PERSON OR TEAM FOR KEEPING ON TOP OF THEIR BUDGET… AND HOW DID THEY DO IT?
Two teams kept exceptional records. Andrew Dolder, the budget person for Greensboro Boys & Girls Club team, had total control of their expenses and made his teammates turn all their receipts in to him. I’ve never had a project before where the budget person balanced their project to the penny. Andrew knew exactly how much his project cost. I was also amazed by Adam Levet, the budget person on the Fabrication Pavilion project. Adam seldom came to talk to me about budget, even though I could see him and the project from my window. SINCE YOU WERE HIRED BY SAMBO IN 2001, HOW HAS THE STUDIO EVOLVED IN YOUR EXPERIENCE? Rural Studio has grown from a small program using recycled materials out of necessity to a program that is constantly challenging itself to be better and remain authentic. Even though we have changed in some ways, our students still come to Newbern to live and work. Being a part of this community and investing themselves here has a lasting impact on their lives. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE, SPOT, VIEW, OR HIDDEN JEWEL
TRUE YOU’RE PLANNING TO SNEAK AWAY TO FORT PAYNE, AL,
IN HALE COUNTY? WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHOW US OR TAKE
WHEN YOU RETIRE FROM AUBURN? Well, if I have to stay, he
US? THE BEST-KEPT SECRET IN HALE? We do have beautiful
does too! Seriously, no one is irreplaceable! This place will keep on running without me. I’m not planning on retiring soon, but I do dream of living in a rustic mountain cabin. WHEN DID YOU FIRST LEARN ABOUT RURAL STUDIO? Sambo Fort Payne has such natural beauty. It’s my favorite place asked Althea Huber, who would do the cooking for the to unwind. students, if she knew anyone that she could recommend ADVICE FOR STUDENTS? Invest yourself in the community. for bookkeeping. Althea called Mom, and they suggested Get to know the folks at Newbern Mercantile. Go to The Stable and interact with Horseshoe Farm Fellows. Watch that I meet Sambo. I remember getting to the mansion where the Studio was a catfish pond being harvested. Help Eric in the garden.
sunsets. Ride from Greensboro south on Highway 69 at dusk and see the beautiful colors reflected in the catfish ponds. Or take Sambo’s favorite drive from Havana to Marion on Perry County Road 29, especially on a fall or spring afternoon. Sambo used to say the land south of Newbern reminded him of the South of France. Enjoy the drive from Newbern to Uniontown and imagine you are in France. FAVORITE TOOL? A sharp sense of humor has always served me well.
Rural Studio has grown from a small program using recycled materials out of necessity to a program that is constantly challenging itself to be better and remain authentic. BRENDA WILKERSON
WHEN DID YOU START WHEELER KEARNS ARCHITECTS IN CHICAGO, IL? After having a small side practice for three
to four years, I left SOM in October 1987 and founded Daniel Wheeler Architects. One week later “Black Friday” happened, the market plunged. I said, “My, great timing.” Larry Kearns joined me six months later, we formed WKA in 1990. ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM CHICAGO? Julie is, I’m not. My Kellogg cereal years were spent in Rochester, Minnesota. I had never been to Chicago until I graduated from school and came in 1981. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SETUP A PRACTICE THERE? Just seemed natural–I knew it, Julie’s family was here, SOM friends, we had started a family, and Chicago has such a great architectural legacy/community. DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE AN ARCHITECT? WHERE DID YOU STUDY? In high school I was a pretty serious ceramist, along
with always designing, in the art rooms/drafting room. I took MIT’s HS study program in architecture. I eventually applied to Alfred University for ceramics, IIT for Architecture, RISD had both (to play it safe, kick the can down the road).
really connected on my first visit to Newbern when Andrew invited me down in 2001/02. Andrew picked me up in Birmingham, gave me the “A” tour. I sat in on reviews, gave a two-carousel talk. And I was hooked. YOU ARE INCREDIBLE AT DRAWING. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SUBJECT TO DRAW? Not so incredible; it’s just our generation. I enjoy drawing from life, recording what I encounter. But I do need to draw, I love to draw, as it helps me see. BESIDES TEACHING OUR STUDENTS HOW TO THROW PUSH PINS LIKE DARTS AND THE OCCASIONAL SPONTANEOUS SWORD FIGHT, WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK TWICE A YEAR TO NEWBERN?
Witnessing the making of empathetic, thoughtful, citizen-architects. It’s been said, but it is true. It is a privilege of my life to partake in a small part of it; it gives us hope. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OUR STUDENTS? Remember we are all emergency room doctors, trusted to improve the world (optimism), yet always carrying the weight of potentially doing harm to it (fear). You need both to do your job well. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE RURAL STUDIO PROJECT?
If I said, I’d lose my friends in this town and yours. All of them :)
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT YOU’VE WORKED ON AND WHY?
WE HEAR YOU ARE A GREAT COLLECTOR! TELL US ABOUT IT, AND
They are all children: each have things you love and things you see flaws in. While we’ve had incredible opportunities, the most rewarding ones for me are the ones we do with the most modest budgets. The skill of a doctor/designer is proving you can enliven with the most minimal means, and the patient/client is truly uplifted.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLLECTION? I’ve bored many a
WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR LOVELY WIFE, JULIE?
First day at SOM. After the studio head introduced the studio members to me, what projects were going on, he turned to this short little thing and asked, “what did I miss?” I figured out right there this was one sharp cookie. She has not proven me wrong yet. IS IT TRUE THAT YOU BIKE FROM CHICAGO TO WISCONSIN AND BACK BEFORE YOU START WORK IN A MORNING? While I do
ride to Wisconsin, not on “school days.” I do, however, often ride to Indiana for an early breakfast before work–a good way to bring smoked whitefish/salmon for office snacks. WHEN DID YOU FIRST LEARN ABOUT RURAL STUDIO? I of course knew of the Mockbee work early on, but first
Red Barn crowd with my faith in evolution, more so than revolution. Our collections are a tracing of that, how you can start with one garden hose nozzle and then collect 543 different ones, each trying in their own way to do the same thing better. Like the 20K house. Like Mies’s high-rises. Julie and I collect things that connect with the common man: modest hose nozzles, 3- and 4-legged stools, Danish salt and pepper mills, bicycles, Fisher-Price Little People that show how within the bandwidth of a type, there are almost limitless possibilities. DID YOUR KIDS BECOME ARCHITECTS? OR CRAZY COLLECTORS? HOW ARE THEY LIKE YOU? No architects, no collections yet. Probably out of seeing how screwed up we are. Louie can draw circles around me and makes way better coffee. Jack is a mensch (after his mother), also the adventurer. YOU DID A DESIGN-BUILD PROJECT WITH STUDENTS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AT UIC. TELL US ABOUT IT. I’ve done multiple D/B projects at UIC, inspired by what I’ve gleaned from the Rural Studio. Illinois is a bankrupt state, our school,
DAN WHEELER Consultant Profile
Chicago-based architect Dan Wheeler has been a friend of Rural Studio for 18 years, acting as a lecturer and reviewer and as a lead in the 5th-Year workshop on sketching and visual communication. Between his elegant and beautiful drawings, biking long distances, collecting pepper mills, and throwing pushpins, his energetic and uplifting visits to the Studio always inject us with enthusiasm and fresh insight. a Netsch Building from 1968 was left for dead. For 3–4 years my students and I selectively cleared 30 dumpsters of detritus out of the building, uncovering the bones of the building, and inserted functional improvements. Diagnose, Prescribe, Construct. Our unofficial motto was, “leave the school better off than the year before.” Showing students that they can improve the world, their world. Thanks to you for helping me see. FAVORITE TOOL? No question: Blackwing Palomino pencil. Followed by a pocket-sized Moleskine Japanese Album accordion sketchbook.
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FRONT PORCH INITIATIVE
FRONT PORCH INITIATIVE Building upon 14 years of 20K Home Project research, we are now working to develop partnerships, products, and policies that address the total cost of homeownership. The Front Porch Initiative encompasses the broad range of work now underway between Rural Studio and external housing providers. Aimed to bring our housing affordability research to to scale by addressing the current challenges in housing access, finance, insurance, constructability and inventory, Front Porch Initiative expands our goal to make the dream of responsible homeownership a reality for everyone. Through the Front Porch Initiative, we aim to extend the impact of Rural Studio’s applied research into housing affordability. We are doing this through a three-pronged approach of developing high-performance house products, influencing policies that facilitate home affordability, and cultivating relationships with partners across the ecosystem of home procurement. For the past year, we’ve worked to focus our message and get the word out about the Front Porch Initiative. Crucial to this work has been the Presidential Award for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) Grant, which has allowed us to work with more of our Auburn University colleagues from both the College of Architecture Design and Construction (CADC) and the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). You can read more about PAIR elsewhere in this newsletter, but we’ve got to give a quick shout-out to Michelle Sidler, Susan Youngblood, and Ed Youngblood from CLA and Courtney Windham and Margaret Fletcher from CADC. Led by our intrepid communications manager Natalie Butts-Ball, we have created a number of new communications tools, including a sharp new website with an entire section dedicated to the Front Porch Initiative! Additionally, physical materials includ-
and connections in the rural housing space. With an approximately $225B loan portfolio, USDA-RD provides loans and loan guarantees to rural America, and is particularly adept at serving lower-than-market financing to borrowers with incomes far below their area median incomes. As we continue to develop partnerships with housing providers and builders, Meghan is able to connect them with these resources. And, speaking of housing providers and builders, these are the organizations that we refer to as our “Field Test Partners.” This year, several of our field test partners will be breaking ground on homes in their service areas. We currently have established partnerships with Affordable Housing Resources in Nashville, TN; Mountain T.O.P. in Coalmont, TN; Milledgeville/Baldwin County Habitat for Humanity in Georgia; Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity in Marianna, FL; and Darlington County Habitat for Humanity in Hartsville, SC. (Remember that Habitat for Humanity conference we went to? Yeah, we met some great folks there!) Also, we are in conversation with other potential field test partners in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. We are providing technical assistance to each of these partners
Informed by lessons learned designing and building in West Alabama, the Front Porch Initiative builds on Rural Studio’s collaborative practices to extend our impact throughout the rural south and beyond ing brochures, exhibit boards, and basswood models, which have proved invaluable for presenting the work at meetings and conferences. In the past year, we have participated in 28 invited keynote and plenary sessions, which has given us an audience with some of the most significant stakeholders in the housing affordability space. In December, Rusty Smith delivered a keynote speak at the Housing Assistance Council’s biannual conference. In March, we had the opportunity to exhibit at Habitat for Humanity’s national conference when long-time Rural Studio partner Mitsubishi Electric donated their booth to us. And, in June, we brought our exhibit to Fannie Mae’s headquarters in Washington, DC, for a presentation and reception. These public forums have been invaluable in securing additional partners and subject matter partners across the areas of finance, credit, regulation, and home and health insurance. In addition to and with the continued support from Fannie Mae, we have also received support from the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Through an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Agreement, Meghan Walsh has been assigned to work on the Front Porch Initiative. Meghan, a Senior Architect with USDA Rural Development, has proven an invaluable addition to our team and brings with her a wealth of knowledge
and working closely to identify the opportunities and address the challenges of building our homes through other methods of delivery. In addition to our new partners, we have continued the relationship with Auburn Opelika Habitat for Humanity in the development of high-performance homes built to beyond-code standards. In fall 2018, Habitat for Humanity worked closely with Auburn architecture and building science students to complete a version of Buster’s House that met Passive House US (PHIUS) and FORTIFIED Gold standards. This year, a second house designed to meet FORTIFIED Gold and the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Homes (ZERH) standards is currently under construction. These focused research projects have allowed us to quantify the initial cost of construction and compare it to the operations and maintenance costs over time, developing a method of computational modeling, testing during construction, and verification through each provider’s particular method of delivery. As we move forward with the Front Porch Initiative, we will continue to pursue the construction of small, beautiful, high-performance homes. Informed by lessons learned designing and building in West Alabama, the Front Porch Initiative builds on Rural Studio’s collaborative practices to extend our impact throughout the rural south and beyond.
THE NEWBERN TIMES, VOL. 8
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5TH-YEAR PROJECTS
5TH-YEARS This year three teams of 5th-year students tackle a range of projects from a new 20K Home for our neighbor, Ann, a new pavilion for the Moundville community in a historic archaeological park, and a research project that explores mass timber and breathing wall systems.
MOUNDVILLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK PAVILION STUDENT TEAM
Emily Lopez, Katie C antine, L auren Ballard, & S arah Page
Moundville Archaeological Park is the historic site of the largest Native American settlement in the Southeast during the Mississippian culture. Now owned by the University of Alabama, the park is an active archaeological site as well as a campground and recreational space. The site is open to the public and is known for its annual Native American Festival, which brings tribes and visitors from all around the country. Rural Studio has been charged with designing and building a pavilion near the campsites that will serve the campers, park goers, and community members. The pavilion will incorporate a covered gathering space for large groups with supplementary areas for smaller groups, along with an outdoor cooking area. The roof will be constructed of the park’s pre-existing supply of timber 2x12s and 2x8s that were laid down as a design challenge to the team. The team broke ground at the end of June and plans to complete the new pavilion later this fall. Follow their progress on their blogs on our new website!
The challenge is to build a new community space in the heart of an active archaeological and public park.
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5TH-YEAR PROJECTS
20K ANN'S HOME STUDENT TEAM
Ayomi Akinlawon, Jed Grant, Madeline Gibbs, & Yikuan Peng
The 23rd version of the 20K Home has a research and design focus of “aging in place.” The team took on the challenge of designing a home for the entire life of its occupant, not simply accepting the narrow understanding of “aging in place” that considers life following retirement. This approach means providing spaces that are flexible and remain usable as a family expands and contracts during different phases of life. In addition to providing a living room that can easily transition into a third bedroom (when teenagers need their own space or the favorite niece comes to stay), the design creates a strong connection between the interior and the porch with the use of double doors. Not only does this strategy create accessibility for someone in a walker, a wheelchair, or even a hospital bed, it also provides space for families to support each other in many ways. The house prepares for this life cycle with details that are both durable and affordable to maintain. Ann’s Home will likely be completed at the time of this newspaper’s printing. Check our new website to see the finished home!
Can a simple modest small home really be flexible and adapt to the different phases of our lives?
BREATHING WALL MASS TIMBER STUDENT TEAM
Anna Halepaska, Fergie Ferguson, Jake Elbrecht, & Preston Rains
The Breathing Wall Mass Timber Research Project is part of a wider research project to investigate a more responsible building system, reducing environmental impact and energy usage through holistic design. Modern day building practices tend to abstract systems and materials into discrete categories—separating the building envelope (interior/exterior barrier) from ventilation systems, materials from energy costs. As a result, the embodied energy costs, from mining to manufacturing to shipping, are overlooked, and building systems don’t necessarily work well together. The team is challenged to integrate these concerns into a comprehensive system. Their research into Breathing Walls, in partnership with McGill University, marries enclosure to ventilation, yielding reduced energy usage. Using mass timber—a local and renewable resource—they will reduce embodied energy costs as it allows for the enclosure to function as structure, insulation, and finish. By reducing both everyday energy usage and the embodied energy of the materials and construction processes, they hope to contribute to the conversation about how holistic design can minimize a building’s environmental impact. After graduating this summer, this team of students initiated Rural Studio’s new graduate program and will stay on for three additional semesters to continue their research until the end of the summer 2020. Be sure to follow their project blogs on our new website!
"We want to design more responsible building systems that reduce environmental impact and energy use."
THE NEWBERN TIMES, VOL. 8
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LOCAL & CL ASS PROFILES
BOOKS & CHAIRS BARBARA WILLIAMS For the last two years, the Newbern Library has been flourishing with the leadership of their new librarian, Barbara Williams. With a lifetime of experience in education, a passion for learning, and deep roots in Hale County, Barbara has created dozens of new programs since she began. We feel lucky to have her here! ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM HALE COUNTY?
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAUGHTER, WHO IS ALSO ON THE BOARD OF NEWBERN LIBRARY. WHAT DID
I was born in Tuscaloosa and lived there until my mother passed when I was 11. However, I was a weekly visitor to Hale County even before then, since this was my mother’s birthplace, and currently I have a grandfather, a number of aunts and uncles, and cousins living here.
She is very organized and goal driven. I think that trait, along with her love for the children, is what makes her a great teacher. She didn’t inherit her organizational skills from me, but she did get her love of reading.
HOW LONG DID YOU WORK FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION? WERE YOU A TEACHER?
HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF A SMALL RURAL LIBRARY GIVEN THAT PEOPLE SEEM TO READ
I worked for the Hale County BOE from 2005 until 2017. I started off in the classroom teaching junior high science at Sunshine High School. I eventually was hired to develop the HIPPY program in Hale County. HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) is a preschool readiness program designed to train the parent to be their child’s first teacher. WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR EDUCATION?
I attended Junior and Senior High School at Greensboro Public Schools – East Campus. I received a BS in biology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?
I like books centered on family life like the Jan Karon books, but I also like a little spice sometimes with Danielle Steel and Debbie Macomber. I like reading biographies and autobiographies of people that I admire. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE, SPOT, VIEW OR HIDDEN JEWEL IN HALE COUNTY? THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN HALE? WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHOW US OR TAKE US?
I love to drive the backroads and see the beautiful pastures stretching for acres and acres. I love to top a hill and see a beautiful valley in front of me—the trees, the cows, the neat rolls of corn, the hay bales—all of it is so peaceful and relaxing.
SHE INHERIT FROM YOU? . . . AND DON’T JUST SAY GOOD LOOKS AND BRAINS!
FEWER AND FEWER BOOKS?
If any library is to have a future, we must no longer be just a depository for books. A library’s main goal is to help its patrons gain knowledge. We have to explore all the ways this can be done: innovative programs, fascinating speakers, interesting exhibits, hands-on presentations, reliable Wi-Fi, availability of up-to-date computers and other electronics. HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH THE SUBSTITUTE LIBRARIANS, WHO ARE OFTEN RURAL STUDIO STUDENTS? TELL US SOMETHING NAUGHTY ABOUT THEM . . . AND SOMETHING GOOD OF COURSE.
I consider myself very lucky to work with Rural Studio students. Without their help as volunteers and attendance at our programs, some programs would not have been successful. We are very proud to be affiliated with them. WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED MOST ABOUT WORKING AT THE LIBRARY?
Working at the Library has filled an important niche in my life. I enjoy planning the programs, meeting and talking with the patrons, and just being useful and active. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OUR STUDENTS?
Love one another and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
ON & BEYOND THE CHAIR INSTRUCTOR Elena Barthel
Drawings by: Anna Halepaska
The 5th-year chair-drawing course, “On and beyond the chair,” with Elena Barthel second is a drawing that looks at the negative space of a sculpture of chairs made by aims to hone the students’ skills as artisans, demanding that the work be executed the students collectively. The space behind, around, and in between objects is called with intelligence, manual skills, and high quality. It is rooted in the concept of learn- the ‘negative space’; we can compare the ‘negative space’ with the silences between ing by making. Students select a found chair to study and are challenged with three the sounds. As Claude Debussy said, “Music is the space between the sounds.” The project components, all exploring free-hand drawing methods. The first is a set of final component is an imaginative mixed-media drawing or series of drawings to two-dimensional, full-scale drawings focusing on the construction of the chair. The explore the student’s personal images of and feelings about the chair.
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ONGOING PROJECTS
IN PROGRESS AT HORSESHOE FARMS Project Horseshoe Farm is a community-based non-profit and life-enhancement organization located in Greensboro, Alabama. Since its founding in 2007, Project Horseshoe Farm has grown to become a multifaceted leadership development and service organization in our community. In the fall of 2017, Project Horseshoe Farm approached RS to help design and build a courtyard space for their headquarters and additional housing for their independent living program for women. Two 5th-year student teams are currently working on what we’ve called the Horseshoe Homes and Horseshoe Hub Courtyard projects.
HORSESHOE HOMES
HORSESHOE HUB
In 2009 Project Horseshoe Farm (PHF) launched its first enhanced independent living housing program for women; housing serves their mission of improving the quality of life of vulnerable adults in the community. Since the launch of the first home and subsequent launch of a second home in 2017, Project Horseshoe Farm has provided stable, supportive, and compassionate housing to more than forty women, many of whom suffer from mental illness. The Horseshoe Homes project focuses on addressing the need for both independent living and communal spaces for local vulnerable women. As a two-phase project, the team has designed a master plan for five living units and an indoor community space. Phase one, which will be completed in the Fall of 2019, will include three independent living units and a covered outdoor communal space shared by both multi-resident homes on the site. A second student team will tackle phase two in the future. This unique two-phase approach to the project will offer PHF the opportunity to learn from the phase-one assumptions. PHF will be able to learn how to manage the project in baby steps. We must not assume that we can all get the project right the first time. This strategy allows us all the flexibility to test our assumptions and to modify them down the road. The design provides a physical environment to address four types of wellness: mental, physical, emotional, and social. It does this by creating space that is manageable, bright, private, surrounded by nature, and easily personalized. The home provides a flexible lifestyle for the women, allowing them to choose how much daily interaction they want. The living units encourage growth of independence with the full inclusion of a kitchen, dining area, bathroom, sleeping area, ample storage, entrance nook, and a private back porch. Project Horseshoe Farm believes in the importance of integrating this type of housing with other support, such as transportation, companionship, and help navigating the often complex healthcare and social services systems. This provides a humane and cost effective model to help support the growing number of adults seeking these wraparound services to maintain their independence and quality of life.
Project Horseshoe Farm runs an innovative network of support programs for adults and teens at their headquarters, the Hub, which is the newly renovated historic “Old Greensboro Hotel” building. The Horseshoe Hub Courtyard celebrates and engages minimally with the 200-year-old brick building with a series of vegetated screens. These galvanized metal screens are made up of a series of double frame panels on which Confederate Jasmine entwine.
The screens of green vegetation delineate the courtyard and give flexibility to the space by limiting the square footage that plants take up on the ground surface. On the south or active end of the site, the screens are high to provide shade and to interact with the walkway along the building’s east façade. At the north, more calm end, the screens are lower to allow light into the space in the winter and to let the canopy of the trees extend across and over the space. The trees not only provide shade in the hot summer months but also enhance the calm space by lowering the scale and making a “ceiling” with their canopy. Adjacent to the active space is a porch where participants can sit and observe everyday activities. The porch doubles as a stage for special events.
THE NEWBERN TIMES, VOL. 8
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FRIENDS OF THE STUDIO
JAS DESIGN BUILD
For the last decade, Joe Schneider and Kim Clements from JAS Design Build in Seattle, WA, have been visiting, supporting, consulting inspiring cajoling and delighting Rural Studio. They have a practice that is truly design and building. Sometimes their teams are framing timber, sometimes at the table drafting. They are a real life version of what we all aspire to. On top of that, they do it with great humbleness, humility, dignity, and as you can sense below, a little nuttiness and a great sense of humor. ARE YOU BOTH ORIGINALLY FROM SEATTLE? KIM: Not originally. Joe is a native of Pittsburgh but spent
consider New Orleans the start of our commitment to philanthropy and pitching in.
his “formative years” in New Jersey. I’m from a very WHY DO YOU SUPPORT RURAL STUDIO? small town in central Florida where my great grandfather KIM: RS gets it. There is nothing like it out there in the grew oranges and owned the local farm supply company. world. It is wrought with the kind of accomplishments GIVE US SOME DIRT ON WHAT YOU LOVE & HATE ABOUT EACH OTHER. and challenges that exemplify Design Build as a practice KIM: I really hate that Joe is quite often seen only as a and way of living. contractor and a money guy rather than as incredibly JOE: I love how honest the place is and the level of talented architect with this ability to create buildings community engagement and commitment to design and spaces in a profound and poetic way. Truly talented is extraordinary. From what I have seen on my travels Designer-Builders are rare birds. They have extraordi- to RS, it is the most interesting architectural education narily high (and challenging) expectations for themselves going on today, a rare blend of doing, thinking, and and their work. They care about Truth with the capital experimenting all in one place. Hats off to Andrew and T, and I really hate that Joe is sometimes seen as just the team for always pressing. another general contractor. And he doesn’t wash the HOW HAS IT BEEN HIRING RURAL STUDIO GRADUATES? WHAT ARE silverware. THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES? BE HONEST! JOE: What I love about Kim is that she makes everything KIM: Honestly, we’ve had fantastic hires of RS grads at she touches better: buildings, food, gardens, and boys, JAS. Like everybody coming out, they do have a lot to they all improve when she engages them. She’s a force learn still, but generally we find that they arrive with a and if you don’t want those things to improve then combination of fearlessness, a sense of community, a don’t ask her to be involved. I hate that she drives too work ethic, good people skills, and a charming ability to fast and thinks she has diplomatic immunity with regard find a place for themselves and contribute to the comto parking. pany culture of our firm. Maybe it comes from spending WHERE DID YOU STUDY ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION? extended periods of time out in the stix, RS folks, at least KIM: We both studied architecture at NC State in Raleigh. our hires, know how to work hard and play hard. Keep Joe has been building things since cleaning sites and sending them our way. learning to frame at the age of 15. My education building things was pretty free form and very unorthodox. Mostly tree houses and anything else I could make with the fewest tools and whatever materials I could find. I have learned on the job mostly. TELL US ABOUT YOUR FRIENDSHIP WITH FRANK HARMON. KIM: Frank was my very first architecture professor, the reason I always have a tape measure, pencil, and notebook on hand. They are in my glove box, my purse, my backpack, at my desk, in our conference rooms… everywhere! Frank said, “If you walk up a set of stairs and they feel good, stop, measure them, and make note.” TELL US ABOUT YOUR ISLAND DESIGN AND BUILD PROJECTS. Perhaps I have taken it a bit far, but what I think he was KIM: For roughly 20+ years we have had a relationship really teaching us was to pay attention and listen to the with Lopez Island in the San Juan Archipelago. Origlittle whispers that whirr by and tell you about the subtle inally we were building a project for Gordon Walker, and often overlooked important moments in the world who some of you may remember from his visit to RS around you, especially the built one. last fall. Since then we have done almost a dozen homes WE LOVE THAT YOU DESIGN AND BUILD YOUR PROJECTS. NOT MANY on the island. We also found ourselves enamored with ARCHITECTURE FIRMS DO BOTH. WHAT LESSONS CAN YOU OFFER the place and its landscape. It wasn’t long after that we OUR STUDENTS WHO MAY WANT TO START THEIR OWN PRACTICES found a very cold-comfort farm of our own out there and DESIGNING AND BUILDING PROJECTS? called it “Rootball.” We let Joe name it, and it stuck. We KIM: Just do it, and remember that you still have a lot have been working away on the place for all these years, to learn from others. I regularly say to carpenters in the figuring out how to build this arm of the company in field, “Educate me, what would you do in this case?” a remote location.The design-build model works really JOE: Learn how to build. It is hard to find the right time well on the island, and it is our intention to continue to in life to stop your architectural pursuits, but if you can fortify our presence and our reputation there. We are find a two- to three-year window to go actually be a no longer enamored with the place, we are in a fully carpenter, mason, or welder, do it. I see too many folks loving and committed relationship with it! It has taught passionate about design-build that don’t understand us a great deal and continues to inspire and charm us, I the build part at the level they should, and it will always suspect it always will. hold them back. HOW HAS YOUR PRACTICE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK IN NEW ORLEANS. KIM: In 27 years JAS has grown from 3 people to just KIM: After Katrina hit, a dear friend and former client of under 100. Lots of collateral change with that aspect ours packed up his SUV and headed for NOLA to help alone. We’ve become better business people (something restore the convent house for the Sisters of the Blessed you don’t learn in architecture school) and, hopefully, Sacrament at Xavier University. We fell madly in love better listeners and leaders. I heard the CEO of Starwith the place and its people. As a company, JAS had bucks say that the most challenging aspect of his business had some financial success at that point, and it felt like was “getting big while still staying small”: staying true to the right thing to give something back. We put funds your origination and roots and “why” of doing business together compiled from our own contribution united while by necessity needing to grow and change through with those of many of our subcontractors and clients– the “how.” It is really hard... you have to care a lot and enough to pay a week’s wages and airfare for a team of be brutally honest with yourself... “are we REALLY as skilled carpenters and architects to go and help where good as we think we are?.... why do we do what we do?” & how we were most needed. Working with Catholic etc. It is super easy to convince yourself that you have Charities and another couple of non-profits, we were able “arrived”… but those can be false laurels in the end if to find projects and hit the ground running for about 8 you’re not careful. Most of the change that has occurred or 9 years. In the recent past we have donated our time in our firm over the years originated with a true belief and energies to projects a little closer to home but always in Design Build. And an understanding that a good
designer can design anything. Especially if she knows how to build it (or get it built) too. JOE: We get to say “No” more often than we used to, which is a healthy place to be. I like having a bit of scale to the business now as it gives us opportunities to be involved in more aspects of the projects, such as interiors or hardscape, than I think we would have been able to at other times in our history. The people continue to be a caring, smart, and funny bunch, which helps. TELL US ABOUT YOUR THREE BOYS. ARE THEY ALL DESIGN-BUILDERS? IF NOT, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? KIM: The boys are all design-builders–the three we have kept–the other ones just didn’t cut the mustard and are living with a family of investment bankers in a condo downtown. They are really coming into their own as makers and doers. Rootball has been a super fertile place for that. They all have some welding skills, are very resourceful, don’t hesitate to cook things that most of us figure are easier to buy in a grocery store (bagels, e.g.), are making knives and furniture and building a sauna. At 19, 17 & 15 they are strong and interested and will hopefully stay that way, otherwise they can go live with their other brothers in the condo downtown. JOE: I need a break. The last month I have been working with them every weekend at our place on Lopez and they are crushing me. They all get it now and have the
“From what I have seen on my travels to Rural Studio, it is the most interesting architectural education going on today, a rare blend of doing, thinking, and experimenting all in one place.” hands to make things happen, one of the best summers of my life. KIM, TELL US ABOUT ROWING ON LAKE PURDY AND HOW AS A BLEEDING HEART WEST COAST LIBERAL YOU WEREN’T SHOT AT?
I rowed with some lovely ladies from the Lake Purdy Rowing Association in Birmingham. Crazy but true, one of them is a former Olympian who was the three seat in the US women’s 8 the first time women were even allowed to row in the 1976 Olympics, if you can believe that!!! Jackie Zoch Major–they won the bronze medal. They were so lovely and gracious and absolutely hilarious. Their boat house is a bait shack on Lake Purdy run by a former ballet dancer who was one of Balanchine’s lead male ballerinas, you can’t make this stuff up. KIM:
JOE, HOW HAVE YOU PUT UP WITH KIM’S FABULOUS LAUGH FOR ALL THESE YEARS?
This is of course, is Mr. Freear’s way of poking at me as I am the one with the difficult laugh. I am not sure how Kim has put up with it, but thank God she has. JOE:
JOE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL SOLITARY CONFINEMENT CELL AT THE OFFICE.
As we were finally recovering from the recession we needed more space and the building we occupy had none to give so we rebuilt a small greenhouse building in the back courtyard of JAS into my “hut.” It’s very quiet out here. I think we packed close to 25 folks in it one afternoon for a meeting. JOE:
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TOOL? KIM: That is an oddly difficult question. My favorite draft-
ing tool is map chart divider tool, favorite kitchen tool is a really nice cork screw, favorite hand tool is pretty much any hammer, but I’m partial to the ball-peen just ’cause it’s cute and the name is so darn awesome, favorite power tool is the cordless drill (up there with the iPhone as on most significant inventions of the 21st century). JOE: These days it’s the 6-1/2” Makita cordless circular saw.
visit ruralstudio.org to learn more
THE NEWBERN TIMES, VOL. 8
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ALUMNI PROFILES
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT WHITNEY PEARCE
Miller Hull Partnership | SEATTLE, WA
“The spirit and humble lessons of Rural Studio continue to influence the way I think about architecture and the way we as architects serve the community and the region. At the end of the day, our work is really all about the people that our projects serve. Rural Studio taught me to keep the individual’s experience and needs at the center of the process, regardless of project type and scale. This continues to inspire my work both in process and in design.” RS PROJECT Boys & Girls Club of Akron II (5th-Year, 2007) and Patrick House (2nd-Year, spring 2004) FAVORITE TOOL Palm nailer—for those hard to reach spots :) ADVICE “Be conscious and aware of the opportunities that Rural Studio provides you to hone new skills,
and use your time wisely to develop those that will serve you throughout your career. The ability to effectively communicate your ideas to your team as well as to your client are important skills that will take you far!”
HEIDI SCHATTIN
Gulf Coast Community Design Studio | BILOXI, MS
“My time at Rural Studio has had a profound impact on my personal and professional life. It taught me to be humble, practical, and kind. I also learned so much about people from working with clients and as part of a team.” RS PROJECT Hale County Hospital Courtyard (5th-Year, 2006) and Music Man House (2nd-Year, spring 2003) FAVORITE TOOL Framing hammer ADVICE “It’s true what they say—being part of Rural Studio is a true honor. Value this experience, listen to your
instructors and lecturers, and make the most of the journey. Values and lessons learned will guide you well in your career.”
CHARLIE JORGENSEN
ESa (Earl Swensson Architects) | NASHVILLE, TN
“Soak in the Rural Studio process and community. Right now, you can see the immediate benefits, but the mistakes you make, along with the communication and teamwork skills you develop, will prove to be more valuable than you can imagine.” RS PROJECT Perry Lakes Bridge (5th-Year, 2004) and FAVORITE TOOL Depends on what I am doing ADVICE “An MRE has enough calories for a full day.
Sanders Dudley House (2nd-Year, spring 2001)
Sometimes they are free from FEMA. After you graduate and go back to finish your project, you might keep this in mind. Also, portfolios are important to illustrate your design and technical skills. When interviewing for a job, your enthusiasm, the way you carry yourself, and how you communicate will offer you the opportunity to differentiate yourself.”
DERECK APLIN
SFCS Architects | ROANOKE, VA
“I hoped that architecture and quality design belonged to everyone before I attended Rural Studio. However, my brief time at Rural Studio made me truly believe it. Since departing, I have worked tirelessly to carry that mission forward to all of my projects, teams, and clients. The core belief system that Rural Studio helped me develop continues to inform every decision I make as an architect and a human being.” RS PROJECT Perry County Learning Center (5th-Year, 2005) and Shiles House (2nd-Year, spring 2002) FAVORITE TOOL Table saw ADVICE “There is no better place on earth for an architect to learn and become inspired. During your precious
time there, learn to trust yourself and your team; accept that choosing the best idea is more important than whether that idea was yours; cherish every moment.”
ADRIENNE BURTON
Project Manager, City & County of Denver | DENVER, CO
“I was lost in the wilderness before I was literally lost in the wilderness at Rural Studio, but my time in that very unique place started me on a pretty incredible journey. I will always be grateful for that opportunity to reset and refocus my life as well as completely immerse myself in some truly challenging experiences with some people that definitely changed my life.” RS PROJECTS Perry Lakes Birding Tower (5th-Year, 2005), Shiles House & Sanders Dudley House (2nd-Year, fall 2001) FAVORITE TOOL Miter saw ADVICE “PAY YOUR DUES: Put in the hours. Be humble and have realistic expectations about your job respon-
sibilities. Don’t be surprised if people don’t pay attention to what you have to say in the beginning. They will eventually. Trust me. Plus, you’re learning something….I promise. And you can always call your mom if you need to feel special.”
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LOCAL UPDATE
IN OTHER NEWS FARM UPDATE
PAIR TEAM
For years, Rural Studio’s kitchen garden has been productive, but lacked the resources it needed to produce enough food for our needs. Fresh off the Loeb Fellowship, Andrew pushed the development of the garden into the new Rural Studio Farm, beginning in June 2018. Our farm manager, Eric Ball, was given the resources, the opportunity, and the mentorship necessary to redevelop and redesign the Farm from the soil up. The Farm’s management philosophy is more about farming the soil than the vegetable crops—good healthy soil produces good healthy vegetables. No pesticides or synthetic fertilizers are ever used on the Farm, and much of the work is done by hand. All of the production area is no-till, and cover crops are used to build soil and maintain a healthy soil ecosystem. The aim is to have something growing in the beds at all times, which means we can circulate through multiple crops throughout the year. We produce about twenty-five main crops, ranging from salad greens to watermelons to rutabagas, from fresh culinary herbs to blackberries. Though small in scale, this intensive model is highly productive, making good use of Rural Studio land while promoting good earth stewardship. And for the first time, every student to go through Rural Studio contributes 10-15 hours per semester in all aspects of food production.
In summer 2018, Rural Studio, in collaboration with faculty from the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) and the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), received a 3-year $1.25 million grant from Auburn University’s Presidential Award for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) program. This interdisciplinary team is developing the informational infrastructure for the Front Porch Initiative, a multi-faceted project to increase home availability and affordability in under-resourced rural communities. Drawing on years of students’ research at the Studio, the Initiative aims to develop a scalable, sustainable, and resilient process for delivering homes to other under-resourced rural communities. To pursue this goal, the Initiative needs a suite of new informational materials -- including a website, brochures, presentation materials -- and, more importantly, the messaging and visual communications to convey the project to a wide range of audiences. The PAIR team, with its strengths in both verbal/textual and visual communication, is uniquely suited to the task. While producing the materials, the team is also researching several related issues, such as housing affordability, home ownership and wealth building, and healthy building practices. In addition, the team is archiving and analyzing the progress of this document development with the aim of producing research about the role of information products in organizational identity and development. Meet the PAIR team:
GREENHOUSE GOSSIP
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
GROWING THE GARDEN
Rural Studio’s solar greenhouse is the Farm’s central element of infrastructure, as it both extends the growing season throughout the cold, wet winter and provides a more controlled growing environment that enhances the production of certain crops. The structure is based on passive architectural strategies and also serves as an educational tool. An extension of the greenhouse structure includes the seed house, which provides a protected environment where all the Farm’s crops begin. The overall structure has been in development for several years, and major strides were made this academic year by professor Elena Barthel to complete it and optimize its operation. Raised beds were built using dimensional lumber to elevate the growing area and maximize space. Gravel was added around the beds, providing additional thermal mass, weed control, and reflective lighting to help the growing crops. Both the greenhouse and the seed house were connected to county water as well as our water collection and storage system, adding flexibility for crop irrigation. Both were also connected to the campus power grid, with plans to also use solar power in the future. In the seed house, the envelope was tightened, the external stairs completed, and an operable shade canopy system was installed, all to be added to the greenhouse in the future. Finally, work was done to finish the thermal insulation berms on the back of the greenhouse, with permaculture plantings to follow this autumn. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT
To enhance students’ daily involvement with the Rural Studio Farm, 5th-years met once a week for a special group lunch hosted by Elena. The aims of these lunches were to enjoy the simple social act of eating together, to celebrate the produce grown on the Farm, and to examine our food system and the Studio’s food purchasing. Each meal was made from ingredients that were either grown fresh on the Farm or else were sourced as locally as possible, with an emphasis on simple dishes that highlight quality ingredients. This model of being resourceful with seasonally available ingredients while minimizing waste, challenged students to think more about how we relate to our surroundings and make choices about food. Each meal was concluded by a short lecture from Eric about various impacts that our current industrialized food production system has on the environment and our health, with the goal of imparting practical knowledge on making choices as consumers.
SAVE THE DATE!
OCTOBER 31, 2019 Halloween Reviews
ANDREW FREEAR CADC/APLA | Wiatt Professor, RS Director RUSTY SMITH CADC/APLA | Associate Professor and RS Associate Director XAVIER VENDRELL CADC/APLA | Professor, Chair of RS’s Graduate Program MARGARET FLETCHER CADC/APLA | Associate Professor JUSTIN MILLER CADC/APLA | Associate Professor and Architecture Program Chair DAVID HINSON CADC/APLA | Associate Professor EMILY MCGLOHN CADC/APLA | Assistant Professor MACKENZIE STAGG CADC/APLA | Assistant Research Professor NATALIE BUTTS-BALL CADC/APLA | Rural Studio Communications Manager COURTNEY WINDHAM CADC/SIGD | Associate Professor COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS DR. ED YOUNGBLOOD CLA/Communication and Journalism | Associate Professor, Director of the Lab for Usability, Communication Interaction, and Accessibility (LUCIA) DR. MICHELLE SIDLER CLA/Department of English | Associate Professor DR. SUSAN YOUNGBLOOD CLA/Department of English | Associate Professor
EXHIBITS & AWARDS THIRD SPACE/SHIFTING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CONTEMPORARY ART JANUARY 28, 2017–JANUARY 06, 2019
Earlier this year the Rural Studio exhibit “2xs” closed after two years at the Birmingham Museum of Art. It was part of the exhibition, Third Space/Shifting Conversations About Contemporary Art, which featured over one hundred works from the museum’s collection. The Studio’s exhibit space was composed of the exact same lumber, in both quantity and dimension, as that used to build 20Kv08 Dave’s Home and was created for gathering and reflection in the larger gallery space. All of the wood material was carefully removed and brought to Hale County and has been used to construct the latest 20K Home, a home for our neighbor Anna. Read more about the project on page 9.
DECEMBER 6 -7, 2019 Soup Roast weekend
APRIL 25, 2020 Pig Roast
THEY BUILT A $20K HOUSE–NOW THEY WANT TO FIX THE HOUSING SYSTEM Fast Company | web | July 19, 2018
PRESS
2018
2019
PROGETTARE FRA LE COSE In Mezzo Alle Cose | book | 2018
THESE ALABAMA ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS ARE DESIGNING AND BUILDING LOW-COST HOMES FOR RURAL AMERICA ArchDaily | web | July 18, 2018
UNLOCKING HOME AFFORDABILITY AND PROSPERITY IN RURAL AMERICA Auburn Research Magazine | magazine | 2019
WHERE “HOMEWORK” MEANS BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSES Yes Magazine | web | November 1, 2018
COLLEGE ARCHITECTURE STUDIO TACKLING AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS Builder and Developer | web | July 18, 2018
INNOVATIVE BUILDING Auburn Research Magazine | magazine | 2019
LIONS PARK PLAYSCAPE Stedebouw & Architectuur | magazine | October 2018
SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER THE STUDIOS OF AUBURN UNIVERSITY Auburn Alumni Magazine | magazine & web | March 2019
15 COOLEST PLAYGROUNDS IN THE UNITED STATES Mommy Nearest | web | September 28, 2018
HOW A COLLEGE ARCHITECTURE STUDIO IS TACKLING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS Curbed | web | July 18, 2018
THERE’S NO OTHER PLAYGROUND IN THE WORLD QUITE LIKE THIS ONE IN ALABAMA Only In Your State | web | March 24, 2019 INNOVATIVE PROGRAM AIMS TO BOOST AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN ALABAMA Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta | web | January 23, 2019 OPELIKA TAKES STEP TOWARD RENEWABLE ENERGY OA News | web | January 10, 2019 40 PLACES UNDER FORTY Saving Places | web | January 2019
RURAL STUDIO, ALABAMA Lotus 167 | magazine | 2018
SAMUEL MOCKBEE, GLASS CHAPEL A Public Space | book | 2018 CHILD CARE IS BROKEN. SILICON VALLEY THINKS IT CAN FIX THAT, TOO Quartz | web | August 28, 2018 RURAL STUDIO’S 20K HOMES REVEAL THE SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS BEHIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING Dwell | web | August 6, 2018 TACKLING THE ‘EVERYWHERE PROBLEM’ OF HOUSING AFFORDABILITY Pro Builder | web | July 20, 2018
RURAL STUDIO LINKS UP WITH FANNIE MAE Architects + Artisans | web | July 18, 2018 RURAL STUDIO / SHOW 416 Simply Southern TV | tv | July 15, 2018 RURAL STUDIO’S 20K INITIATIVE AT AUBURN UNIVERSITY NOW BACKED BY FANNIE MAE Residential Architect | web | July 11, 2018 RURAL STUDIO’S 20K INITIATIVE AT AUBURN UNIVERSITY NOW BACKED BY FANNIE MAE Architect Magazine | web | July 11, 2018 AUBURN UNIVERSITY RURAL STUDIO’S 20K INITIATIVE AU Newsroom | web | July 10, 2018
Auburn University Rural Studio PO Box 278 Newbern AL 35765