Rural Studio Newsletter 2015 by Rural Studio

rural studio Newsletter 2014—2015

vol. 4

The Newbern Library, an adaptive reuse project of a bank building built in 1906, was designed and built by four 5th Year students. It was completed in May 2015.

Photograph: Timothy Hursley

“Our students come to understand that “We are committed to continue giving design is a material act that bears profound Auburn architecture students a first-class education and helping the local community social consequences.” in any way that we can.” Director’s Letter Andrew Freear

Faculty Profile Rusty Smith

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“What I look for at its most basic level when we participate in the process of architecture is humanity.”

“I have come to realize that (Rural Studio’s) true value to me is perhaps not as a completed project but instead as an experience.”

Consultant Profile Joe Farruggia

Alumni Profile Amy Green Bullington

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“When you see how the students struggle, laugh, cry, and get frustrated, it really changes how you look at things.” Local Supporters Susie Harris Page 11

“Who could have ever imagined that computers and drafting boards would take the place of hay bales.” Friend of the Studio Robert Walthall Page 12

big cheese

Andrew Freear

Letter from Hale County

printing

Auburn Opelika Printing production

Natalie Butts-Ball editor

Natalie Butts-Ball

s brits do like to talk

drummer boy, Alex Henderson) are working

sponsored by Autodesk. Equal thanks goes to the

about the weather .

on building additional storage for the Morrisette

nea for granting us resources for a documentary

in Hale County over the last

kitchen. Such has been the success of the garden

short, made by Tim and Dave Anderson. You

six months makes me feel

that we desperately need more dry, refrigerated,

can watch the entire film online, just click on

like I’m right back home in

and cold storage. The three 5th Year teams

our website or blog to find “Rural Studio: Love

the place of my birth. It’s rained in Newbern

(under the grumpy, affable, and foul-mouthed

Stories”.

non-stop since January (of course, before that we

leadership of yours truly and the legendary

complained because there was a drought!). The

Steve Long) are working on a fabulous, wooden

Turning back to Newbern, our lovely neighbors

layout

Hale County dirt plays tricks on you: it shows

fabrication pavilion for us to make things under;

Leia and Matt continue to inspire the Newbern

Clifton Burt

you a hard-looking crust two days after rain, but

20k version number 17 (yes seventeen, doesn’t

Mercantile to thrive. Don’t miss the Friday

break through that crust and you will find thick

time fly when you are having fun); and some

lunchtime fried catfish or the daily special! The

gumbo that sticks to ya boots.

dazzling shading devices for Lions Park, because

Newbern Post Office is thankfully still open,

the trees we planted last year won’t offer shade

although now only operating for a few hours

for another twenty years!

a day. The Newbern Mercantile and Rural

editor’s editors

Eric Ball Colleen Bourdeau Alex Henderson

i l l u s t r at i o n s

Living

Callie Eitzen For a program like ours, it’s tough to build

Studio both managed to chase bats out of their

and work with any kind of schedule. So we are special thank you

grateful for the patience of our students, parents,

From a staff point of view, losing quality folks

respective premises. Thanks also should go to

Cameron Acheson Mackenzie Stagg

and community partners who understand that

like Mackenzie Stagg, Cameron Acheson,

local carpenter Ken Unruh, who fixed the

there are certain things, like mother-nature, that

John Marusich, and Marion McElroy has been

collapsed floor on the ground floor of the Red

Their rigorous work developing

we just cannot control.

very tough. Alex Henderson has, of course,

Barn in the 3rd Year studio. Most recently we got

been a great addition and Natalie Butts-Ball is

bad news: Mayor Woody Stokes had a very bad

This twenty-first year is our coming of age (we

valiantly holding down two roles as 20k Manager

motorcycle accident. Our thoughts and prayers

can now all legally drink beer!) and in entering

and Communications Director. Gayle Etheridge

are with him and his family.

our third decade we are committed to continue

and Brenda Wilkerson have been doing their

giving Auburn architecture students a first-class

usual, wonderfully reliable job of steering our

In Greensboro, we are delighted to announce

education and helping the local community in

ever-so-tight budget. We had Xavier Vendrell in

the Parks & Recreation Board has been formed.

any way that we can. But we realize that, in order

Newbern, as the 3rd Year Visiting Professor for

Board members include local Alabama Power

to continue doing that sustainably, we must look

the year, to allow Elena Barthel time to complete

chief Susie Harris and former Greensboro City

after the heart of Rural Studio. So the focus

the Rural Studio Farm Greenhouse. Chef

Councilman Steve Gentry, who helped instigate

of the year has been to hand-hold community

Catherine and gardener Eric Ball continue to

the town farmers’ market, and Theodore Hill,

projects that already exist, support them in their

do a great job growing and preparing the food

Robbie Turner, and Phillip Wagner.

endeavors, and look at ways to improve our own

for lunches and dinners.

this newsletter in previous years has made this issue possible.

facilities and organization.

We’ve had our usual plethora of lecturers this In the “personals,” Natalie Butts-Ball married

year, most of whom also gave project reviews:

The importance and necessity of the work,

her gardener, Eric (actually, he is our gardener as

Emilie Hagen of Atelier Ten, Peter Gluck

as well as the need to be sustainable with our

well), and they are already expecting a little boy

of gluck+, Dan Wheeler of Wheeler Kearns

resources, was underscored for us through

this fall. (Rural Studio is a very fertile place...).

out of Chicago, our graphic designer Clifton

several awards and honors we received this year.

Cristina, mine and Elena’s now nearly two-year-

Burt, and Pete Landon of Landon Bone Baker.

In May, at The American Institute of Architects

old daughter, is learning to understand Johnny

MacArthur Fellow Rick Lowe also visited and

National Convention in Atlanta, we received

Parker’s grumpy, yet colorful, linguistic skills,

lectured with Auburn University Art students

the aia Whitney M. Young Jr. Award. It was a

whilst he teaches her to weld (“make yourself

and Professor Wendy Duschene.

huge honor and incredibly humbling to receive

useful girl!”). Johnny, in turn, actually shaved

letters of support from some of the greatest

this year. Whoo eeee! Finally, we want to give

In December we decided to continue a ritual

living designers in the usa: Billie Tsien, Tom

a VERY BIG congratulations to Brenda’s son,

we began during our 20th Anniversary by having

Kundig, Marlon Blackwell, Ted Flato, and

Warren Aubrey, who just graduated high school

another Alumni Lecture Night at CaJohn’s. This

Frank Harmon, to name but a few. Also, at

and passed his driving test. Between you and me,

year’s attendees included Rand Pinson, Amy

the National Convention, Auburn cadc hosted

there should be a public health warning on this

Green Bullington, and David Austin. Their

an event to celebrate the award, and you can

boy, particularly when he is on the road!

work blew us away with its sophistication and

be sure that Rural Studio painted that little

sense of humor. The evening began with a talk

Georgia town a whole bunch of orange and blue

We had a variety of speaking engagements this

by the legendary Godfather of design-build,

with Hale County “tea”! In addition, outgoing

past year. I spoke at the 2nd Annual Design

the great Steve Badanes. The next day at Soup

Week Birmingham at the Birmingham Museum

Roast, Steve and his colleague from Seattle, Jake

proffered a Presidential Citation this June, which

of Art; Roros and Trondheim, Norway; the

LaBarre (Danny Wicke’s look-a-like twin!), and

was presented over dinner with the President

20th anniversary celebration of Dan Rockhill’s

Jim Adamson gave their usual crits and reviews

of Auburn University. All our staff and faculty

Studio 804 in Lawrence, Kansas; the University

with great energy and wit.

squeezed into our fancy tuxedos for dinner!

of Oklahoma; Yale Art School; and the Alabama

(Imagine the scene, all the country bumpkins

Council for the Arts. I also spoke at the aia

Speaking of CaJohn’s, our friend and owner

come to the BIG City!) Lastly, our dear friend

National Convention, along with Marlon

of CaJohn’s Bar & Grill in Faunsdale, John

Marcia Moulton also nominated the Studio

Blackwell, Roberto de Leon, and Frank

Broussard, finally retired from the restaurant

for the 2015 Auburn University Spirit of

Harmon, on the importance of place-based

business to focus on the farm. He passed the

Sustainability Award, which we received in April.

design in a globalized world. In October,

torch to his spicy waitress of many years and

Natalie Butts-Ball went to New York City to

Newbern native, Jennifer Tucker. You’ll still

So now to the work, for the work is not done

receive the award for Finalist in Fast Company’s

find many of your favorites, including crawfish

for awards. First, we’ve been finishing up a few

Innovation By Design Award for the 20k

pie and pistolettes, at the new Faunsdale Bar &

projects: last year we were delighted to complete

House Product Line, and Rusty Smith was

Grill.

and open the Greensboro Boys & Girls Club,

the Keynote Speaker in Pristina, Kosovo at the

and, more recently, on May 2nd 2015, we handed

annual “EcoWeek” conference. Earlier this year

The year culminated in wonderful fashion with

over the keys of the newly finished Newbern

Rusty also introduced the 20k Product Line at

the Pig Roast tour, Newbern Library Ribbon

Library to the Library board. We really hope

the Tennessee Governor’s Housing Summit in

Cutting, a roast of the students, and the

and trust that both projects will help the future

Nashville, Tennessee and at the end of July will

lovely guest speaker John Peterson from San

health and educational well being of not only

be a keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the

Francisco-based Public Architecture. The day

the kids but all the citizens of West Alabama.

Florida American Institute of Architects in Boca

ended with music by our local friends Chip &

Steve Long and I have also been working on

Raton, Florida.

V.K. Spencer and the Grasshopper String

aia

President Helene Combs Dreiling, faia

the 20k model homes, one of the first steps

Band of Alabama.

towards creating a visitor-friendly product line

There have been some new university initiatives

for the small affordable house. Perhaps most

too. On April 18, Auburn University launched

We wish you all the best in the coming year.

importantly, the hugely ambitious greenhouse

a one billion-dollar fundraising campaign. The

Best,

is creeping towards completion. Alumni John

Because This is Auburn Campaign includes almost

Marusich and Zane Morgan have been

half of that billion as support for programs like

assisting Elena Barthel with the Morrisette icon;

Rural Studio. As part of this overall campaign,

made of 55–gallon drums, steel, and huge sheets

Rural Studio has seen some success in both small

Andrew Freear

of glass the project is a tour de force and, when

donations and in large estate or planned gifts. To

Director, Rural Studio

completed, will raise expectations for the Rural

learn more about the campaign, contact Melissa

Studio farm production through its glass roof!

Denney at Melissa@auburn.edu.

Academically this year, our student teams have

Our graphic production team of Clifton Burt

A U B URN U NIVE RSIT Y IS

been working on our own infrastructure. The

and Natalie Butts-Ball continue to roll out

A N E QU AL O P P ORTU NITY

3rd Years (under the sexy accent of Barcelona-

beautiful graphic media. Our great photographer

born Visiting Professor Xavier Vendrell and

Tim Hursley completed a time-lapse video of

his able side-kick, white-noise generator and

the 20k model home construction, which was

E DU C AT IO NA L I N S T I TUT IO N/E MP LO Y E R .

Recent Press & Awards

Awards “In celebration of two decades of forging lasting ties between the program’s students and the people of Alabama; as together they develop real solutions that have healed communities, while teaching rising generations of architects the value of listening carefully to the needs and dreams of those they would serve. The great work of the Studio shows that, more than skill in draftsmanship, design excellence is compassionate when sweat is shared in the struggle to make a positive difference in the quality of peoples’ lives.” —aia presidential citation AIA Presidential Citation

Fast Company Innovation By Design Finalist, Social

2014 ArchDaily Building of the Year Award

In a final gesture as outgoing President of the aia, Helene

Good Category

In February of last year, ArchDaily announced the winners

Combs Dreiling, faia, issued a formal citation recognizing

In October 2014, at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New

of the 2014 Building of the Year Award. The award is given

Rural Studio. The American Institute of Architects (aia)

York City, Fast Company’s Innovation By Design Awards

to fourteen projects in fourteen building categories. Over

Presidential Citation honors individuals that are believed to

and Conference brought together problem solvers from the

3,500 projects were judged and over 60,000 votes were

merit acknowledgment for outstanding contributions to the

worlds of business and design to explore the newest ideas

cast. We are happy to say that Newbern Town Hall was

world of architecture.

in everything from apps to architecture. The conference

selected winner of the 2014 ArchDaily Building of the Year

included six hours of highly visual sessions, two days of

Award for Public Architecture. The winners were promoted

AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award

off-site design experiences, and concluded with a cocktail

on the ArchDaily website, which receives over 300,000

The Board of Directors of The American Institute of

party and awards ceremony recognizing the smartest, most

daily visitors and 70 million page views per month. In

Architects (aia) named Rural Studio the recipient of the

ambitious, most inventive design working in concert with

addition, the two projects with the most votes received an

2015 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award. Established in 1972,

business and culture.

hp designjet t520 ePrinter. Big thanks to everyone who

the award has honored architects and organizations that

The Rural Studio 20K House project was honored as one of

participated in the vote—the printer works wonders!

embody the profession’s proactive social mandate through

the finalists in Fast Company’s 2014 Innovation By Design

a range of commitments, including affordable housing,

Awards, Social Good Category.

DesignIntelligence 30 Most Admired Educators:

inclusiveness, and universal access. The award is named

Andrew Freear

after the civil rights–era head of the Urban League who

Auburn University Spirit of Sustainability Award

Each year the DesignIntelligence survey of “America’s

confronted the aia’s absence of socially progressive advocacy

The Auburn University Spirit of Sustainability Awards

Best Architecture & Design Schools” honors excellence in

at the 1968 aia National Convention. Proudly, Auburn

program exists to recognize individuals or groups of

education and education administration in the disciplines

University Rural Studio is the first academic program to be

Auburn University students, faculty, staff, and alumni

of architecture, industrial design, interior design, and

honored.

that exemplify the Auburn spirit by making significant

landscape architecture by naming thirty exemplary

contributions toward sustainability on campus or in a

professionals in these fields. DesignIntelligence recognized

community at any point along the Sustainability Compass:

Andrew Freear in their list of “30 Most Admired Educators

Nature, Economy, Society, and Wellbeing.

for 2015.”

Press 2014

2015

Auburn University Rural Studio | Notes Of Interest AIA.com | web | december 12, 2014

Pig Roast And Newbern Library Project Opening StudioAPLA | web | summer issue 2015

Whitney M. Young Jr. Award: Rural Studio ArchitectMagazine.com | web | december 10, 2014

RS Receives Whitney M. Young Jr. Award At National AIA StudioAPLA | web | summer issue 2015

Rural Studio Celebrates Project Openings StudioAPLA | web | fall 2014 issue

Site Specific In The Middle Of Nowhere Domus | web | june 2015

30 Most Admired Educators: Andrew Freear Design Intelligence | web | december 2014

Rural Studio Receives Prestigious Whitney M. Young Jr. Award From American Institute Of Architects Beyond Auburn | magazine | spring/summer 2015

Learning By Design Parks and Recreation | Magazine & Web | november 2014 Social Good Finalist Fast Company | magazine | october 2014

Auburn's Rural Studio Students Reveal Newbern Library AL.com | web | may 2, 2015 Rural Studio: Incarnations Of A Design-And-Build Programme Architectural Design | magazine | march/april 2015 issue

Build An Energy-Efficient, Sustainble Home For $20K? Rural Studio Shows That Yes, You Can Line//Shape//Space | web | march 4, 2015 In Rural Alabama, Student Architects Jump-Start A Neglected Park Mother Nature Network | web | february 26, 2015 Good Design Harvard Magazine | web | february/March 2015 The 11 Most Stunning New Architecture Projects In America Thrillist | web | february 24, 2015

Architecture For The People, By The People Grist | web | august 29, 2014

$20,000 Homes Created By Students Could Help Fix Rural America's Affordable Housing Crisis The Huffington Post Impact | web | february 17, 2015

Notebook: Rural Studio Reflections By Dan Splaingard gb&d | magazine & web | july-August 2014

Rural Studio Builds Hope For The Needy The Plainsman | web | february 15, 2015

Lions Park Scout Hut Architectural Record | magazine & web | july 2014

The Promise Of The $20,000 House The Atlantic CITYLAB | web | february 3, 2015

5 Reasons Why Architects Should Volunteer To Build Abroad ArchDaily | web | july 17, 2014

Auburn University's Rural Studio Brings 20K Houses To Hale County WBHM 90.3, Alabama Public Radio | radio & web | january 20, 2015 Auburn's 'Rural Studio' Offers Possible Model For Mercer In Blight Fight The Telegraph | web | january 15, 2015 Bet The House gb&d | magazine & web | january + february issue

Films “Rural Studio Love Stories” Directed by Dave Anderson & Timothy Hursley This film was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts Art Works.

“The Making of a 20K” Directed by Timothy Hursley This film was supported by Autodesk Foundation.

Profiles

Faculty Profile Rusty Smith Rusty Smith is Auburn University’s Gresham Professor, Associate Chair of the Architecture Program, Coordinator of the First Year Program in Architecture, and Associate Director of Rural Studio. In addition to taking on as many jobs as possible, Rusty is known for his clear and eloquent way of saying exactly what you wanted to say, but didn’t know how; thoroughly dismantling and reconstructing the worldviews of first year architecture students; and biking absurd distances. Tell us about your love for drawing.

You are married to the boss. Tell us what she does?

As a Southerner I have a natural proclivity to love a good story, and above all other art forms I enjoy writing the most, in large part for its immediacy and precision. Unfortunately, I am terrible at it. But I have always been fairly good with my hands, and as a means of telling a story I quickly found drawing to be the next best thing to writing. That said drawing for me is not merely a means of representation, instead it is the primary way I think. For me the act of drawing is like building, like assembling. Unfortunately, I do not have the ability to see images wholly in my mind—so in this way drawing becomes a way of seeing my ideas clearly.

Jennifer is the co-owner of Hendrick, a 40-year-old commercial Interior Design firm in Atlanta. Working with a wide array of clients in the sectors of Communications, Media, Law, and Healthcare, Hendrick is an industry leader in the field of Workplace Strategy and Change Management. She really is one smart cookie, so I am not sure what she is doing hanging around with me. I do often remind her that if she were only a better person she would have had a lot more choices.

Why do you like teaching entry-level architecture students?

It probably goes without saying, but like most that wind up in this profession, I was fortunate to have more than my fair share of remarkable, inspiring teachers. The two that had the greatest impact on my own trajectory were, of course, Gaines Blackwell and Sheri Schumacher. By far the biggest influence on me during that time however was, of course, Jennifer, whom I met in our third year of school. She was (and still is) simultaneously the funniest and most serious person I have ever met. Jennifer is smart, kind, earnest, and remarkably hard working. Oh, and she is sporty to boot. I genuinely think I worked as hard as I did in undergraduate school just so she would pay attention to me. It is funny to think of honing one’s design skills simply as a form of flirting, but it worked for me. Eventually.

I like the way they smell, and the way they crawl all over each other with their eyes still closed begging to be loved, petted, and nourished. Sort of like a box of newborn puppies. By the end of the year, though, their eyes are all brown and crusted over, and they smell kinda funny, sort of like a box full of moldering potatoes. How far do you drive each week? I don’t live in Auburn, or Newbern, or even in Alabama; instead I live just outside Atlanta in Decatur, Georgia. I do commute back and forth to work every week, but once in Auburn, I am parked and instead walk or ride my bike everywhere. The back-and-forth bit from Atlanta to Auburn is only 110 miles door-to-door, or (more importantly) one hour and forty–five minutes. So on a typical week only 3.5 hours. While that may sound like a lot, the average commute in Atlanta is 36.2 minutes one-way, or right at 6 hours per week! On the weeks I throw a trip to Newbern into the mix, all bets are off, however. I distinctly remember a trip many years ago (2002-2003, maybe?) when Andrew had students working in Thomaston, Perry Lakes, Akron, Mason’s Bend, and Antioch Baptist Church. In two days we drove over 900 miles visiting the project teams. Crazy to think Andrew did that every day, week in and week out, when those projects were under construction. Thankfully, Rural Studio tends to work a little closer to home these days. How far do you run, swim, bike, and walk each week? I don’t pay any attention to distance on a day-to-day basis, but I usually pursue that silliness anywhere from 10 to 20 hours per week. Last year it worked out to be 14.9 hours per week, or 442,642 yards swimming, 4,868 miles cycling, and 1,190 miles running, for a total of 6,309 miles. A quick Google reports that to be the exact driving distance between Juneau, Alaska and Colon, Panama. Divided by 52 that equals 121.3 miles. So there you go: 121.3 miles per week. That is not so much, really. Why do you shave your legs? Anything else? The stock answer that most swimmers, cyclists, and runners will give you usually has something to do with aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and the clean-ability of crash-induced road rash. The truth, however, is that it simply engenders the question, “Why do you shave your legs?” to which I get to regale the questioner with riveting conversations about mile splits, lactate threshold testing, functional threshold power, race-day nutritional strategies, and the like. Oh, and besides that, I have very pretty legs. Why are you so positive? I think the world is a funny, bizarre, and curious place. We only get one go-round in it, and I have zero interest in talking about the things we can’t do. It drives me bananas how often we hear the phrase, “No, but…” in conversations about design. The simple word “No” is one of the most disempowering, disenfranchising terms ever invented by human beings. It keeps us from listening to and, more importantly, hearing what others have to say. We most often say “No” simply to give our own opinions more validity. Alternatively, the phrase, “Yes, and...” embodies an ethos of openness that is fundamental and primary to the creative act. It allows us to accept and build upon each other’s contributions. It increases collective ownership in the work that we have done together. Ownership is key to buy-in, and buy-in is important to getting things done. That, and because it annoys people.

Who was your greatest inspiration at design school?

Tell us about your time at the Art Institute of Chicago? What did you do there? I fell backwards into teaching by accident, and, after doing that for a few years, I decided that if I was going to continue into the future I should probably become properly credentialed to do so. However, after working in a professional office for 7 or so years after graduation, as well as teaching in a school of architecture for a few more years after that, I just did not have the stomach for going back to architecture school. Instead I had come to see my professional craft not as design, but rather as teaching, so I began to narrow my choice of schools down to those that had a strong history, reputation, and ethos in studio-based practice. I soon came to realize that this was the natural environment in the best schools of art, and ultimately enrolled in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During my time there I followed David McCullough’s advice to “take the teacher, not the class,” and for the next two years I bolted myself to a breadth of unmatched, world-class artists across the disciplines of drawing, painting, sculpture, performance, architecture, writing, and activism. I drew and wrote a lot, but mostly as a side effect of the work I was really doing, which was learning the craft of studio-based teaching from some of the best practitioners on the planet. Why are you at Auburn? The Architecture Program at Auburn University is the recognized innovation-leader in hands-on, practice-based teaching and learning. We believe that the best way to learn how to do something is by actually doing it. As a Land Grant institution we are also deeply rooted in the ethos of outreach and service learning. Together we work on meaningful public interest design projects that have real-life impacts. Through this context-intensive work our students come to understand that design is a material act that bears profound social consequences. As such, the issues of making, craft, manufacture, and assembly all have meaning that resonates much deeper than a simple understanding of form and aesthetics. Thus, the development of know-how (the embodiment of knowledge through the act of making and building) becomes the unique characteristic that enables our graduates to be socially engaged, active, and truly impactful design professionals. There simply is no other program like ours, and I cannot imagine working anywhere else. Are you a republican or a democrat? Third Way Fiscal Conservative Social Libertine Secular Humanist, just like most people if they were completely honest with themselves. Do you prefer a hammer or a drill? 20 oz. Estwing Straight Claw Hammer.

Programs & Current Projects

3rd Year Program Rural Studio Farm Storehouse

The Rural Studio Farm Storehouse is a 560–square–foot storage facility located adjacent to the 2010 kitchen addition behind Morrisette House. It will store fresh garden produce, preserved foods, dishware, and cleaning supplies, and will include a vegetable wash station and accessible restroom.

n 2010, Rural Studio initiated the Rural Studio Farm project on the Morrisette House property in Newbern. The object of the Farm is to live more responsibly in our rural setting by understanding and utilizing our land and facilities. With thoughtful design, we can use these resources to increase our food and energy production and decrease our reliance on outside food and energy. The process requires that the entire campus is viewed and cultivated as a single working machine, a network of co-dependent systems. The latest installment and essential component to this machine is the Rural Studio Farm Storehouse.The Storehouse will enable the growth of the Morrisette Farm as it expands production with the Solar Greenhouse, and additional storage space will free up cluttered closets and offices in Morrisette House. The project began with the complex challenge of developing a program. The need for storage was clear, but the amount was not. To determine square footage requirements, the students documented the dimensions and weight of every item that will be moved from Morrisette House to the Storehouse. In addition, to understand the amount of incoming produce, the students made estimates for the future output of the Morrisette Farm. The students developed charts detailing predicted yields, harvest months for each vegetable, preservation methods, and climatic conditions necessary for storage. This data was counterbalanced with estimated rates of food consumption. Once a total volume of stored goods was established, the team researched shelving modules. The final square footage needs were determined by fitting the stored goods within the shelving modules, adding an additional percentage of shelving for future growth, and including space for circulation.

construction, minimizing thermal bridging. Wall cavities and the undersides of the floor and roof are filled with spray foam insulation providing a high R-value and a tight thermal envelope. For the 320-square-foot storage space, an earth duct system coupled with a solar chimney will provide most of the cooling and heating needs. The building form is a bar nine–and–a–half feet wide by seventy feet long with a dogtrot and a shed roof. The width provides enough space for shelving along both walls and a central circulation aisle. The bar slides behind the Kitchen and extends southward, creating a large courtyard behind Morrisette House. The Storehouse, the Kitchen, and the back, one-story portion of Morrisette House will be clad with a rain screen made with recycled lumber that the Studio has collected over the years, visually tying the courtyard space together. A covered deck will connect the Kitchen and Storehouse, and the dogtrot will provide a covered outdoor space for the wash station.

In typical building design, human comfort is a leading priority, however in the case of the Storehouse, the primary ‘client’ is produce, and the comfort range of this produce is quite different from that of a human. It was soon realized that a variety of climates is necessary for different types of food storage. The three climatic conditions that the Storehouse will offer are a site-built 8x10 walkin refrigerator kept at 35-40 degrees, two sub-zero freezers, and a 320 sq. ft. dry storage space that will fluctuate between 50 and 80 degrees. In addition to these spaces, the program includes a produce wash station located conveniently beside storage facilities and an accessible restroom for visitors and kitchen staff. Traditionally, produce has been stored below grade in cellars and basements where the thermal properties of the earth work passively to keep the produce within an ideal temperature range. Below grade construction isn't feasible behind Morrisette House, so, taking advantage of similar passive systems, the Storehouse is designed as a cellar above ground. The exterior walls use double stud Illustration: Callie Eitzen

CHAIR CLASS

HISTORY AND THEORY SEMINAR

For the past five years, as part of the 3rd Year course of study, an emphasis has been placed on developing and encouraging the use of wood as a renewable and readily available material throughout the Studio. The Rural Studio wood shop has served as a base for 3rd Year students to gain a solid understanding of woodworking skills and focus on the quality and characteristics of working with wood. They are challenged to develop and design the process of recreating iconic modern chairs through research, drawing, modeling and building. The final product yields extensive drawings and the actual reproduction of the chair. The goal is to reinforce a culture of rigor in research and craft that will extend beyond the woodshop into future projects.

The objective of the History and Theory Seminar at Rural Studio is to familiarize the students with the built environment in Alabama’s Black Belt and to gain understanding of the context of the buildings when they were built and how they relate to the world today. The physical, social, and cultural environments have to be understood in order to place these buildings in context, both nationally and internationally. The course consists of weekly trips to historic buildings in west Alabama, discussion of the buildings, and free-hand sketches of each building visited. Also part of the course requirements is a “Beaux Arts” watercolor of a historic building in the Black Belt.

Programs & Current Projects

5th Year Program Instructors: Andrew Freear, Steve Long

This year three teams of four 5th Year students continue the legacy of designing and building community-based projects, while improving Morrisette campus, and developing the latest two-bedroom 20K House model. Lions Park Shade

This year—the ninth year that Rural Studio has worked with the Lions Park committee—the Lions Park Shade team has sought to address the need for places of refuge throughout the park for the casual park user. While the park features a beautiful shaded forest, the majority of the 40–acre park can become unbearable in the heat of summer. The project aims to extend the shade past the forest along different areas of the walking trail, creating opportunities for rest, relaxation, and gathering. These areas will provide greater amenities for recreation and leisure in Lions Park. The shading structures will symbiotically relate with recently planted trees, which will take fifteen to twenty years before offering good shade, creating a layered canopy, changing over time and throughout the seasons. The structures will allow precise shading at certain times of the day and year, offering a unique experience for every park visitor. The main structure will be made of welded aluminum beams and steel columns. Atop this structure, shading members will be made of a folded composite sheet material that has a core of recycled plastic and a stressed skin of metal.

Rural Studio Fabrication Pavillion

Existing outdoor covered workspaces at our Morrisette campus and woodshop are limited in space and performance. This year the Fabrication Pavilion team will build a new outdoor fabrication space that will improve our craft, efficiency, and construction capabilities. The new Fabrication Pavilion will be the first phase of a two-phase project and will provide a covered, level concrete working surface for students to build mock-ups and test ideas. The second phase, proposes a woodshop that will sit beneath the roof of the pavilion and provide interior space for craft, fabricating, and teaching. The pavilion structure will consist of wood columns and trusses that will be bolted together using a bypass construction method, in which wood members slip past each other to allow simple connections. Shear walls will attach from the concrete slab to the roof to stabilize the pavilion in the short axis. A bathroom and mechanical room will be placed between the shear walls, with storage above. Finally, a Structural Insulated Panel (sip) roof will sit on top of the wood trusses and will handle the shear in the long axis.

20K v17 Geraldine’s House

20k v17 is the fifth iteration of a two-bedroom 20k House. In response to the last four two-bedroom homes built last year, the new version of the 20k House seeks ways to streamline structural and environmental systems. This long, narrow, and proud house reduces the number of piers and allows for improved cross ventilation and natural lighting. The team is also challenged to make the house adaptable for clients with accessibility issues. The house has an interior dogtrot that is skewed to increase living room, dining room, and kitchen views to the exterior. Storage running the length of the house also helps organize its main spaces. This will be the first 20k House to have built-in storage using screwed-together, off-the-shelf IKEA module products. The aim is to improve the range and quality of storage available to future potential clients while accommodating furniture. A generous “push-in” porch will offer light and ventilation to the large communal kitchen, dining, and living room.

Profiles

Illustration: Callie Eitzen

Meet the team (from left to right): Rusty Smith, Associate Director of Rural Studio and Associate Professor in Auburn; Andrew Freear, Director of Rural Studio and Wiatt Professor; Steve Long, Instructor & Construction Supervisor; and Natalie Butts-Ball, Communications and 20k House Manager

20K House Product Line Rusty Smith, Andrew Freear, Steve Long, Natalie Butts-Ball

The 20K House began in 2005 as a Rural Studio research project to address the need for affordable housing in Hale County, provide an alternative to the mobile home, and accommodate potential homeowners who are unable to qualify for commercial credit.

or the last few years, the Studio has been working towards releasing the 20k House Product Line drawings to the public. This has been an exciting year for the 20k House project. Two teams have been working collaboratively to develop different facets of the Product Line: Andrew and Steve continue to critically examine the Model Homes, built during the 20th Anniversary, and to evaluate ongoing 20k House iterations from student teams; Natalie and Rusty are working on realizing a marketable product, with our first partner set to produce two contractor-built 20k Houses. Both teams are working with the three prototype houses in the Product Line, which are 20k v08 Dave’s House (2008), 20k v09 MacArthur’s House (2009), and 20k v10 Joanne’s House (2010). All of these houses are based upon construction sets from Chicagobased architecture firm Landon Bone Baker (lbba).

MODEL HOMES

uilding upon extensive work done by students and staff during Rural Studio’s 20th Anniversary year, the 20k Model Home initiative in Newbern nears completion. The Model Homes are closely based upon existing student designs and are built in close proximity to each other as a means of testing these designs, as well as a showcase to have for display to clients and donors. To date, work continues on MacArthur’s House and Joanne’s House as an evolving staff project. The homes are being reviewed and critically used as a means to test and simplify building materials, construction methods and details, along with the consideration of durability and efficiency. The ultimate hope is to help clarify concepts behind the Models and provide a certain cohesion between them as they move forward as part of the Product Line. In the fall of 2015, we aim to bring MacArthur’s and Joanne’s House to completion. Construction will also begin on the third prototype, Dave’s House. Seattle-based architecture firm jas will be generously donating their expertise by sending professionals to help construct Dave’s House alongside Rural Studio students and staff. The outcome of this endeavor will be a fresh perspective from outside builders with a different set of skills and techniques that will undoubtedly be extraordinarily helpful in testing and refining these models.

PRODUCT TESTING

his year, our first step developing the Product Line was to select the right partner to build the first contractor-built 20k Product Line homes. During the last eleven years working on the 20k House project, only students have built the houses. Although we have extensive records, drawings, material shopping lists, and other documentation, we do not yet know how much it costs a contractor to build these homes. Obviously construction costs will always vary, but it is important to use this opportunity to see how the 20k House will react to the market before we release the drawings. Our goal is to use this feedback to make a better, well-crafted, and more affordably built product. To begin our first test, we have partnered with Serenbe, a progressive community on the edge of Atlanta, Georgia, where they are developing a growing artist and residency complex, called The Art Farm at Serenbe. This fall, in the first phase of their housing development, The Art Farm will build Dave’s House and Joanne’s House, with plans to build MacArthur’s House soon thereafter. One advantage working with Serenbe, where occupants are temporary, is both Serenbe and Rural Studio will be able to do regular postoccupancy evaluations and examine weathering and efficiency. The Contractor, recently selected among five bidders, is set to begin construction in August, and already the bid and permitting process has proved tremendously beneficial. Although still works-in-progress, the combined information we have learned from both the contractor-built 20k Houses at Serenbe and the 20k Model Homes has been invaluable. As these projects reach completion, Rural Studio will begin to work on other aspects of the Product Line: developing a go-to-market strategy and distribution plan, creating a brand with graphic design, evaluate whether previously built two-bedroom houses can be vetted into product, add an accessible house to the Product Line, and partner with affordable housing groups for further testing. For more information about the 20k House, contact Natalie ButtsBall at natalie.butts@gmail.com.

Profiles

Consultant Profile Joe Farruggia

Joe Farruggia is an architect and structural engineer, practicing in Chicago. He has been the engineering consultant for Rural Studio since 2003, guiding the Studio through its adolescence with patience, grace, and good humor. He has become a father figure at Rural Studio. LOCATION: MARION, AL — THE SHACK [SOUNDS OF THE JUKEBOX, PEOPLE CHATTING, PEANUT SHELLS CRUNCHING BENEATH HIGH HEELS AND COWBOY BOOTS, AND BEER CANS OPENING WHILE THEY EAT AT CRAB CLAWS AND CHICKEN WINGS]... ALEX HENDERSON:

you are from.

Joe, tell us a little bit about who you are and where

Sometimes I wonder … Now I’m an architect. The interesting thing is I can’t remember a point in my life when I didn’t want to be an architect. When I was younger I didn’t even know what an architect did, but I never considered doing anything else.

JOE FARRUGGIA:

In the dark ages of children’s toys, everyone had Lincoln Logs. I was the kid in the family who played with them the longest. They captured my interest, I don’t know why. When I grew up, I didn’t necessarily want to be a carpenter, but I knew I wanted to do something that was related to the whole process of building. I related more to the humanity part of architecture. In architecture, we have an opportunity to do something with our hands that is ultimately dealing with what is in our hearts and in our souls. I went to the University of Illinois because I was aware that there was a really good architecture school, but I still didn’t really know at that point what that meant. The first semester I was taking an introduction to design, watercolor, and drafting, and I’d never before held a paintbrush in my hand or taken a design class. I really didn’t know how to sit down with a piece of paper and design a building. Back in those days, before computers, you only had a piece of paper, and you’d use a T-square and a triangle to actually create a working drawing. Ultimately, I got my undergraduate degree in Architecture and went on to get a Master of Science in Architectural Engineering. AH:

Where did you meet your wife?

JF: I met Marina while I was at the University of Illinois. Both of my roommates in college were from farming families. When I’d visit one of them at home, he’d teach me how to drive a tractor while his girlfriend would try to set me up on blind dates. Eventually, around Thanksgiving, right before I was to leave for studying abroad in Europe, his girlfriend introduced me to her college roommate, Marina. I knew I didn’t want to look for anyone else after that. We eventually finished school together and got married.

Who did you work for before you got into private practice? And Andrew wants to know if he made you wear leather pants…? [Laughter] AH:

JF: I worked for Murphy/Jahn Architects both summers following 3rd and 4th year of school, and then they asked me to stay on after graduation. AH: JF: AH:

How long did you work there? 12 or 13 years… What’s the leather pants comment about?

JF: Oh, Helmut Jahn wore leather pants. [Laughter] Everyone walked in fear of him. AH:

Did you have interactions with him?

Oh yeah, all the time. The principals chose who they wanted to work with. JF:

AH:

Did you find yourself working in a certain niche within the firm?

We did all kinds of things. I worked on the O’Hare airport many times. You probably didn’t realize there’s an underground city below the airport. Every time the airline did a renovation, we got to work on it. Then two buildings over a two-year period collapsed. I wasn’t

JF:

involved with either one of them, but within the year, the boss fired all 30 people in the structural department. He said, “You have three months’ notice.” And I was one of those... In your private practice now, are you generally hired more as a consultant by the architecture firms, or do you do more of the hiring, picking people to work with you? AH:

JF:

It’s both. They come to me personally. We do everything.

You know, I’m a relatively simple person. What I look for at its most basic level when we participate in the process of architecture is humanity. Doctors do a wonderful thing. There’s humanity in the process of being a doctor. And there is humanity in what we do too. People are looking for us to help them, not make them well, but …what we do as architects is as important to the health of a person as the doctor who makes them well. We’re not starting with people who are sick, but with people who have needs. If we’re going to serve someone, we can’t think about ourselves and what’s in our minds, but what is the nature of this person and what are they looking for. Ultimately what we do might be a home where someone lives. There is nothing more personal than that. The wonderful thing about the Studio is you and your clients have not only participated in bringing an idea to life, you are also part of the process of making that idea tangible, which is what I envy all of you for. You actually have the opportunity to build it. I live vicariously through you. You’ll come back 30 or 40 years from now with your family and you’ll be able to say, “This is what we did”…. AH:

How have you seen the industry change in your career?

One thing we’re beginning to see is changes in the way drawings are produced. Andrew is really old school from this perspective. He’s of the notion, and fervently believes, that you can’t do too many drawings. You can do too few, but not too many. You really have to question if you have examined everything. JF:

The way drawings are created today at huge firms in the business is changing; they are not even designed well. They do 3D models and perspectives showing what it’s going to look like, but only take a stab at details, and then say, “We’re done.” Then the contractor comes to me and says, “I got a 40 million dollar job, let’s work together to come up with the staging process.” Ultimately, we design systems. Problem solving is what we do. A former boss once commented to me, “We find out how good people are not when things are going well, but when things fall apart.” It’s all about how well you respond to problems when they happen, because they will. I’ve never forgotten that.

Profiles

Alumni Profile Amy Green Bullington It has now been almost a decade since I left Hale County. While I was only there for a short time, my years at Rural Studio were the most intensely difficult and simultaneously rewarding of my life—rivaled only by having a newborn!

or two years my thesis teammate, Steve Long, and I worked in Mason’s Bend to design and build a house for Christine Green and her family. I left Hale County in 2006, incredibly proud of the work we had completed. In the years since, I have had the opportunity to work at several design firms and to become a registered architect. I’ve worked on glamorous and not-so-glamorous projects, new buildings and renovations, ranging from modest residential additions to large university buildings. While I am still very proud of Christine’s House, I have come to realize that its true value to me is perhaps not as a completed project but instead as an experience; the lessons I learned from it have been an integral part of every project since. Work hard While this lesson was reinforced by a summer pouring concrete in Mason’s Bend, it began in Red Barn, where Andrew encouraged us to draw, carefully working through every detail. Today I find myself still pursuing this rigorous approach to design, pushing to ensure that the work I do measures up to this high standard. Have a sense of humor In life, things rarely go exactly as planned. I’ve found this to be true of my thesis project ...and every project I’ve worked on since. From Halloween reviews in full costume to dodging birds flying around the thesis studio, my time at Rural Studio taught me that, while it’s important to work hard, it’s also important to not take yourself too seriously.

Collaborate with others While I am still amazed that Steve and I completed Christine’s House as a two-person team, we were anything but alone. Our design process was informed by consultants and reviewers who generously offered their expertise, and our construction efforts were supported by the entire Rural Studio community. Architecture is a team sport, and I continue to find that the best designs are the result of a truly collaborative process. My time in Hale County also left me with the deep conviction that design is an important part of meaningful social change. I am currently completing a master’s degree in City & Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, with a focus on affordable housing, community development, and non-profit work. My current research is focused on the community design movement, which was catalyzed by civil rights activist Whitney Young’s challenge to the aia to produce work relevant to the nation’s pressing social issues. It is only fitting that Rural Studio was awarded the 2015 Whitney Young Award; through its decades of work in the Black Belt region and—perhaps most importantly—the hundreds of citizen architects it has educated, Rural Studio continues to realize Mr. Young’s vision for the true potential of the architecture profession. I am humbled and honored to have been a small part of these efforts.

Illustration: Callie Eitzen

Profiles

Local Supporters Susie Harris—Alabama Power—Greensboro Parks and Rec Board Go to any community meeting or leadership forum in Greensboro, and you’re certain to see one person at all of them: Susie Harris. Susie is a force of nature; one of the most active and engaged civic leaders this side of the Mississippi. She is the Manager for Alabama Power’s Greensboro and Uniontown Offices, and, over the years, she has been essential in cultivating countless strong and lasting relationships between Rural Studio and the community organizations of Hale County. NATALIE BUTTS-BALL: Susie, we want to get to know you better. Where are you originally from? SUSIE HARRIS: I’m originally from Pickens County and grew up in Aliceville. I graduated from Pickens Academy and then Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi. Right after graduation, I went to work for Alabama Power. NBB:

What exactly do you do at Alabama Power?

SH: I started as a customer service representative in Aliceville and Reform, and when my daughter got older, I decided I would go to Tuscaloosa to begin the management track. Soon after, I was offered this position in Greensboro. Now I split my time between the Greensboro and Uniontown offices.

I’ve heard you are on quite a few community service boards, including our Advisory Board. Is being a part of so many boards part of your job at Alabama Power, or is it a personal initiative? And you know I have to ask, how many boards are you actually on? NBB:

[Laughter] SH:

•

• • • • • • • • • •

Ha-ha, let’s see,.. I actually just rolled off the Greensboro Boys & Girls Club in January. The first year I was President and then last year, Treasurer. Horseshoe Farms Board of Directors Greensboro Parks & Recreation Board, Chairman Rural Studio Advisory Board Hale County Industrial Board, Chairman - This was the very first board I joined. Lions Club, President Greensboro Area Business & Tourism Association Inter Se, Vice President Magnolia Grove Foundation Hale County Homemakers and Community Leaders And West Alabama Tourism Initiative, whew! [Laughter]

I really don’t feel it’s been an issue for me to get involved and serve this community just because I am a female. I try not to look at it from a female/male perspective. I look at it from a goal perspective. “We’re trying to accomplish this…” It doesn’t matter if you wear a skirt or slacks, we’re going to work together and accomplish the goal. I think people see that it’s a performance thing, not a gender thing. NBB:

Andrew wants to know how you stay so chipper. [Laughter]

I don’t know… Am I chipper? [Laughter] I guess I try to have a positive outlook in general. If you focus on the negative things, I think you can be consumed by it. I try to look for the positive in situations and people. I am very blessed and fortunate. My family is healthy. I love my job. I love being in Greensboro. I’m completely content. My main hobby is participating in community activities. I really enjoy what I do. I know that sounds crazy. It sounds like I have no life. [Laughter] But I just love it.

SH:

What do you see for the future of Hale County and Greensboro?

NB:

I think being in a rural place, you’re limited on commercial growth. My hope and vision is community progress. One example is Lions Park. There is SO much opportunity there. We could host tournaments, riding events, etc. I think we should capitalize on the many special and unique things Greensboro and Hale County have to offer. SH:

NBB:

What’s next for you?

I hope to stay here as long as they’ll have me. I could see myself retiring here. Obviously, Alabama Power afforded me the opportunity to come to Greensboro, so I’m thankful for that. It was truly a blessing. I hope that in the future we’ll have even more to focus on …really utilizing what we have for growth. SH:

I appreciate that Rural Studio has embraced me. I tell Andrew and Gayle all the time that I love, love, love Rural Studio. I’m not saying that because you’re here. [Laughter] But when I first came, It is actually part of my role. Alabama Power encourages all of its I really felt welcomed. When I first met Andrew, even after that first employees to get involved in their communities and to support in conversation, I felt like he was a friend. We were on the same track, any way those programs best serve the community. I try to serve so had the same goals and visions for this area. Then my circle got people know that I’m representing Alabama Power but I want people bigger when I started meeting the students. to know that I’m there as an individual too. NBB: Which RS projects have you been part of? Initially my plan was, if anyone invites me, I’ll check it out, get involved, and once I get a feel for everything, pick what I like the SH: The Lions Park Landscape, Scouts, Fitness, and now Shade, and best. That was nearly five years ago and I have just continued to add both the Greensboro and Akron Boys & Girls Clubs. more. I truly enjoy all of them. I love that I’ve gotten to watch the students grow. Like, Alex, he’s a NBB: Wow! How do you keep up with everything? prime example. I remember when he first came. I watched how he developed as an individual, how his thinking changed as time went SH: [Laughter] Well, I’m not tech savvy, so I use a paper calendar. I on. When you see how the students struggle, laugh, cry, and get have an organizer, which I LOVE, and it is even color coded! frustrated, it really changes how you look at things. You followed Don Ballard, who Andrew affectionately says is a “man’s man”. How have you found the job as a woman? NBB:

It hasn’t been difficult at all. Don was very generous to me when I first came. He brought me to Rural Studio, introduced me to Gayle and Brenda. Rode me around our territory, showed me where our lines are. I attribute a lot of my involvement in the community to him. He’s actually my sponsoring member for Lions Club too. I’m the only female member and I serve as their president. They chartered over 50 years ago and have never had a female president. SH:

When I first came, you could tell they weren’t used to having a female in the Club. I don’t think they knew what to think of me initially, but it didn’t take long. It really touched me when they nominated me to serve as President. That meant a lot; they truly accepted me.

I don’t get to see the students often, but when I do I can tell there is growth, maturity, vision, and that inspires me. They are here a short time but their footprints will last forever. And Andrew is a phenomenal leader. He knows how to bring together so many different mindsets. Just like I was saying about gender, he doesn’t see the lines of difference. He has a goal and he goes straight towards it. It’s impressive how much people respect him. I tell him all the time, “I don’t know what we would have done without you.” He always laughs. Does he really know what a difference he makes? I hope he does. I honestly don’t know how he has any hair left. [Laughter]

Profiles

Friend of the Studio Robert Walthall For over 150 years, the name Walthall has echoed along the streets and meadows of Newbern. The Walthall family was one the founding families of Newbern, and they have lived in the area for generations. Robert Walthall, a lawyer now living in Birmingham, is an integral piece of this age-old lineage. He was born and raised in Newbern and has been a friend of Rural Studio since its beginning,.

are traits that accurately describe Newbern, its families, and Rural Studio. As a member of the Rural Studio Advisory Board, it is a pleasure to write an article about Newbern, the Walthall family, my association with Rural Studio over the years, and related topics. I am following in the steps of some very big pillars of Rural Studio such as Jackie Mockbee, Dick Hudgens, and William Sledge who have written for the newsletter. eep roots, pride, and tradition

The earliest inhabitants of Newbern were a group of North Carolinians who settled in the Newbern area nearly 200 years ago. They named their town Newberne in honor of their native North Carolina home - Newberne. By 1824, stores were being built, a post office was established in 1834, and, in 1859, a railroad was built connecting Newbern to Selma. Some Newbern churches are some of the oldest structures in the county - Presbyterian (1848), Baptist (1849), and Methodist (1884). The Presbyterian and Baptist churches are pure Gothic outline with gabled arches upheld by stately Doric columns. Time has not destroyed the intrinsic beauty that lies in the architectural details of the homes and churches in Newbern.

My favorite Rural Studio story revolves around the Red Barn, William Christenberry, Andrew Freear, Uncle Ben Pollard, and Joe Green. Originally, the Red Barn was a combination doctor's office and drugstore, dispensing drugs downstairs after the doctor saw patients upstairs. During the 1940–50s era, my great uncle, Ben Pollard, operated the Red Barn as a farm supply store, shipping hay and other supplies to coal mines throughout Alabama. On Saturday nights Uncle Ben would be in his back office listening to baseball games on the radio—a source of entertainment for young and old alike. In the 1950’s, Joe Green, a farm laborer, and I stacked hay in the barn—and Joe reminded me to "leave the barn when I saw the red monkey coming," which Joe and I saw often as the temperature rose beyond endurance.

n t he s u mme r o f 1960, I took courses at the University in Tuscaloosa and boarded at Mrs. Smith's house. I met Mrs. Smith's grandson, William Christenberry, who also boarded there while working on his masters. We had several walks to the campus in which he talked of his family in Hale County and his interest in the objects, landscapes, and buildings of his home county. Ironically, fifteen years later, William would start his foray In 1820, my great, great, great grandfather, Richard Booker into shooting large format stills of warehouses, decrepit cotton Walthall (1794-1849), established a farm just northeast of Newbern. gins, people-less landscapes, and, of course, the Red Barn, the Green In addition to his farming activities, Richard Booker was a trustee Barn, and the Black Barn. William had a keen sense of looking at of the University of Alabama and served objects, landscapes, and buildings of his home “Who could have ever twenty years in the Alabama legislature. He county as signs and symbols of who we are— also was General Andrew Jackson's supply where we've been, where we are now, and imagined that computers commander during military battles in the where we are going—searching for a usable Alabama territory during the 1815 period. He and drafting boards would past. Fast forward to 2002 and Andrew and I are exploring the Red Barn, Black Barn, and and his children were buried in the Walthall take the place of hay bales.” other buildings as a possible location for Rural cemetery which is located on the family Studio's architectural headquarters. Andrew, farm property. Walthalia, the family home the explorer, had the vision to transform the Red Barn into a place in Newbern, was built by the young widow of Richard Booker's where students could design low-cost structures for impoverished son, Robert Kennon, in 1856. It is still in the hands of our family. residents of the region and other civic-oriented projects. Our family Walthalia is an antebellum cottage of decidedly Greek aspects. A wide veranda skirts the front of Walthalia and paneled pilasters adorn was impressed with Andrew's mission to see this rusty crimson structure put to use once again. It has the corners and entrance. The interior needed constant attention since then, plan has a wide central hall connecting the but that has been effort and money well various rooms. The windows, which reach spent. Who could have ever imagined that from the ceiling to the floor, demand computers and drafting boards would take the sun's rays to flow in each room. the place of hay bales and the red monkey! Recently I purchased a mint copy of As a teenager, each summer I worked William's Red Barn from a New Orleans on the family farm hayfields, the cotton dealer—it sits in my study and reminds gin, Newbern Mercantile, Dairy Fresh me of Joe Green, the red monkey, Uncle milk plant ("Son, be at the milk plant Ben, William, and Andrew. I saw William at 4:30 am to load out the trucks!"), at the 2014 pig roast, we chatted and he or the John Deere dealership. Dad's said call him when in Washington—he is John Deere dealership was no. 45 in the only Christenberry in the phone book. the u.s., the business burned down twice and was built back to save the The general concept for Rural Studio jobs and customers. I was always busy explains its success and international with other activities such as playing recognition over the years—make marbles, sling shot matches (with an impact on architectural students rocks), tennis, horseback riding, and beyond the classroom—move them swimming in the creek or Miss Dale's off of the university campus—share pool. My two brothers and I were eagle the architectural heritage of the Black scouts and camped a lot with troop Belt with the students. This has been 13. Food that we ate was excellent. a powerful teaching tool. Through It was fresh from the garden, home the outreach of Rural Studio, the canned from the garden, homegrown "citizen architect" has become an equal chickens and eggs, and milk cows. part of the community —a natural, We made our own butter and ice organic member of the community. cream as well. I still remember the Newbern, along with Rural Studio’s smell of the Newbern air, it was pure body of work in the region, remind us of what we intrinsically and filled with the smell of animals—pigs, goats, cows, horses, possess—the land, our heritage, and our culture—may we proceed. mules, and chickens, as well as, cotton, corn, and hay. As a farmer, Dad worried a lot about the rain—it was often not I have enjoyed being part of Rural Studio and greatly enough or occasionally too much—never just right. appreciate the great work they are doing in the Black Belt. Newbern had a blacksmith shop during the 1940-50’s era behind Newbern Mercantile. Dad backed Oscar Satterfield as a smith for what was then an important service to the community. Oscar was a superb craftsman and would have worked well with Rural Studio projects.

Staff Initiatives

Greenhouse

Formation of the Parks and Rec Board

in 2010, the 3rd Year class, led by Elena Barthel, conducted a careful assessment of Rural Studio’s facilities and available resources and developed a framework to guide the Studio toward a more sustainable future. An essential component of that framework is a strategic plan to overhaul the Morrisette House campus. While preserving the existing functions of the campus as office space, student dormitories, and a lawn for project mock-ups, the new strategic plan includes the addition of a commercial kitchen (completed 2010), a new woodshop, modifications to the driveways and circulation paths, numerous garden beds, varieties of fruit trees, water-catchment and irrigation systems, compost mounds, vegetable washing stations, a produce storehouse, a seed house, and a greenhouse. The project has been coined the Rural Studio Farm.

for nearly a decade, Rural Studio has been working in Greensboro’s Lions Park. Over the past nine years, the Studio has built nine projects in the park and has a tenth currently underway. The park has steadily grown into the one-stop-shop for all of your recreational needs. It boasts baseball fields, basketball courts, a horse riding arena, a football and soccer field, picnic pavilions, a skate park, a playground, fitness equipment, a concessions stand, public restrooms, and a variety of native trees and wildlife. In light of this success, a new and complex challenge has arisen: with each additional project, the standard of care has risen, and the burden of maintenance and upkeep has gradually increased.

The Solar Greenhouse is one of the most significant pieces of infrastructure for the Rural Studio Farm. West Alabama does have a long growing season, but the most productive months are during the summer, when no students are living on campus. The greenhouse will extend the growing season into the winter, ensuring that the food produced will be available for students year-round. The Solar Greenhouse is a significant undertaking. The galvanized steel structure covers a 2,600-square-foot rectangular footprint in the northeast corner of the Morrisette property. The northern wall of the building is built with an earth berm supported by a tall retaining wall of stacked and welded 55–gallon drums filled with water. On the southern side, a glass shed roof faces the sun. During the cool season, sunlight will shine through the southfacing roof and heat the drums, which will then radiate heat back into the space during the cool nights, stabilizing the temperature. During the 2014-2015 academic year, Elena Barthel led a small team focused on completing the design and construction of the greenhouse envelope. Rural Studio alumni John Marusich and Zane Morgan aided in the fabrication and installation of 72 operable windows along the north and south facades of the greenhouse, four sets of French doors, and four glass walls enclosing the east and west facades. The greenhouse is in the final stages of construction and completion is expected in Spring 2016.

The bulk of the maintenance burden—mowing, weed eating, and garbage cleanup—has gone to the City of Greensboro’s Road Crew and to independent user groups. Other tasks, such as tree care, repairing built structures, and weeding, were allowed to compound, and have been handled by the team of Rural Studio students working in the park at the time or by groups of students during late summer and early winter neck-down blitzes. Neither of these systems, maintenance by the overworked Greensboro Road Crew or by regular Rural Studio student help, has proven to be sustainable, especially given the yearly increase in maintenance requirement. In 2012, Rural Studio staff and the Lions Park Committee, the chief governing entity and client for the park, began brainstorming a new model of park maintenance and management. The solution was that the City of Greensboro would create a Parks and Recreation Board which would organize activity schedules and oversee maintenance not only for Lions Park, but for all five Greensboro city parks and the Greensboro Recreation Center. In March of this year, after countless hours of research and meetings, the City of Greensboro appointed its first Parks and Recreation Board. The appointees include Stephen Gentry, Susie Harris, Theodore Hill, Robbie Turner, and Phillip Wagner. The board’s primary goal is to provide the community with multiple locations where a wide array of activities can be enjoyed. In order to accomplish this, their first priority is to assess each park’s individual needs and to create an identity for each park. The board is in the process of deciding how best to utilize its resources to benefit the community.

Recently Completed All Photos: Timothy Hursley

2 0 K V 1 3 S Y LV I A’ S H O U S E

20K V14 BOBBY’S HOUSE

Sylvia’s House, 20k v13, is the first house to explore a hip roof. The hip roof allows large overhangs on all four sides, helping to protect the home’s walls from rain and sun. With an interior at 754–square –feet, Sylvia’s House is the most compact of the four new twobedroom homes. The plan contains a rectangular volume with the living room, dining room, and kitchen. A second volume contains the more private space of the bedrooms, bathroom, and a utility space. By intersecting the two volumes, and then shifting them past one another, porches are created on each end of the house. These adjoining volumes also help to eliminate unusable circulation space.

Bobby’s House, 20k v14, features a long, narrow front porch which serves a double function: it provides a social gathering space at the front of the house’s exterior, and it separates the private and social spaces on the home’s interior. The gabled roof of the house extends out with long overhangs; the overhangs protect the front stair (which doubles as seating on the porch) and an accessible ramp along the back of the house. The home is designed to be adaptable so that the client can age in place.

2 0 K V 1 5 I D E L L A’ S H O U S E

20K V16 MICHELE’S HOUSE

Idella’s House, 20k v15, takes cues from the previous year’s house (20k v12 Eddie’s House) and continues research into a slab-ongrade foundation and an aboveground tornado safe room. The house, designed to be fully accessible, features a restroom in the center of the house that doubles as a tornado safe room. In plan, the grout-filled cmu safe room helps delineate the interior spaces of the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The mass of the house is broken up by a combination of a gable and a shed roof.

Michele’s House, 20k v16, features a gabled roof without any overhangs. In lieu of the overhangs, bent steel window shades provide localized shading for the south-facing windows, shielding the windows from the hot summer sun. The plan of the house consolidates the social spaces to the center, with bedrooms flanking each end. A porch in front of each bedroom allows cross-ventilation through each bedroom and also helps extend the living room. One of the porches is screened in, allowing it to function as an outdoor living and dining space.

Recently Completed

GREENSBORO BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

A team of four 5th Year students designed and constructed an extension to the existing Armory compound, providing a new, but separate, Boys & Girls Club facility. Adjacent to the Armory’s gymnasium, the new 5,100– square–foot building serves as the learning center for the club and consists of a large classroom space, computer lab, snack area, administrative office, restrooms, and multiple sheltered outdoor spaces. In an effort to utilize locally available resources and common building practices, the Boys & Girls Club facility is built of lightweight wood frame construction in the iconic gabled shape. Following a concept of maximizing the potential of wood, all structural elements are composed of common lumber and oriented strand board (OSB), including multiple box beams spanning large openings. Clad in vibrant blue corrugated metal, it refers to the vernacular rural barn. The interior walls are finished in OSB, a material chosen in response to the need for a durable, economical, locally available product that would also contribute to the overall lowmaintenance of the building. The project was completed in August 2014.

NEWBERN LIBRARY

The Newbern Library, designed and built by four 5th Year students, is an adaptive reuse project of a bank building built in 1906. The preserved masonry shell of the existing building contrasts with the addition, which is clad in local cypress siding. Bookshelves center a new space within the width of the old building, creating a room where readers are immersed in books. The modular bookshelves are made of birch plywood, cnc-milled, finished, and assembled on site. Complementing the larger public space, a series of alcoves within the bookshelves accommodate computers, private study nooks, window seats, storage closets, bathrooms, and access to the outdoors. The artifacts from the original building, such as the old heart pine floors and bank vault door, were repurposed and preserved inside the new space. A courtyard to the north of the building provides library patrons with shaded outdoor reading and activity space. The Newbern Library was completed in May 2015.

ROSE LEE & JASON’S HOUSES

In 2009, the 2nd Year Studio designed and built a courtyard house in Footwash, Alabama for Rose Lee Turner and her sons BJ and Jason. In 2011, the house was completely destroyed by a fire. Last year, the 3rd Year students built two new homes for Rose Lee and her son Jason, sited around the only remnant of their original home— the concrete courtyard. The two houses were chosen from the catalog of existing 20k prototypes to best suit the site and needs of Rose Lee and Jason. The final selections were 20k v12 Eddie’s House for Rose Lee and 20k v09 MacArthur’s House for Jason. The houses were positioned parallel to one another on the north and south sides of the courtyard. The students slightly modified the houses, adding an additional bedroom to Eddie’s House and testing a variety of construction details on both models, including new flashing conditions, gables vented through metal louvers, and painted fiber cement siding. In addition, the Studio developed a landscape plan for the entire property. The students solved drainage issues on site and made ground covers, flowers and shrubs, trees, and sitting areas.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY RURAL STUDIO P. O . B O X 2 7 8 NEWBERN, AL 36765

Invest in Rural Studioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future. Your gift, no matter the size, signals strong confidence in our students and faculty and their ability to make a difference. www.supportruralstudio.com or contact our Development Officer Melissa Foster Denney; Melissa@auburn.edu or 334.844.5436