Architecture students bring accessibility and even more beauty to the Wells Overlook Park

PASSERINE PAVILION

BY DIRT WORKS STUDIO

INTRODUCING ANOTHER BEAUTIFULLY INGENIOUS COMMUNITY COLLABORATION DESIGNED AND BUILT BY DIRT WORKS STUDIO STUDENTS.

(cont.)

Interrupted by the pandemic, students in Chad Kraus’ Dirt Works Studio persevered to design and build an elegant and ADA-accessible work of public architecture that will be enjoyed by area residents and visitors to Lawrence and Douglas County for years to come.

Perched high on a limestone escarpment two miles south of Lawrence, this collaboration between the KU School of Architecture & Design and Douglas County Kansas Public Works has realized a viewing platform and shelter that provides a breathtaking view of Lawrence, the University of Kansas campus, and the surrounding hills, forested valleys, and farmlands.

During the 2021 fall semester, students developed the studio’s second project at Wells Overlook Park – The Polaris Pavilion, an accessible picnic shelter at the southern end of the park.

In November of 2021, it was announced that Dirt Works Studio was selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Build Challenge. The KU studio is among 37 teams representing institutions from 12 different countries.

To gain insights about their design for a recreational kayak entry/exit point on the Kansas River, Thom Allen’s second-year architecture students took to the water with Friends of the Kaw, a local group committed to protecting the river and enhancing its recreational uses.

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY