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Building Anew: A Rehabilitation and Rebuilding Initiative in Rural North Carolina

Marshall, North Carolina

Supporting its mission to increase high performance rural housing, Rural Studio’s Front Porch Initiative has partnered with the Community Housing Coalition of Madison County (CHCMC) in North Carolina. In 2022, the CHCMC secured funding to replace four substandard houses in their service area. The CHCMC has historically focused on the repair and rehabilitation of existing homes in their service area but recognized the opportunity to invest funding more sustainably through replacement housing. For the first of these projects, CHCMC chose to use a Rural Studio design, which will accommodate the challenging housing site. The site has both a restricted buildable area and a significant grade change.

Replacement home on the left and existing home on the right (red roof)

The Sylvia’s House prototype was well suited for the narrow and steeply sloped rural site where an existing home—which remained in place during construction—and septic lines limited the buildable area. The new home overlooks a stream across the road and nestles into a hillside while maintaining driveway access to the existing home. The selection of finishes favored durable and low-maintenance materials. Access and space planning considered the future mobility needs of the client: in addition to the ramp at the front porch, grading at the rear porch will allow a zero-step entry. Inside a roll-in shower will accommodate aging-in-place. Where possible, the Rural Studio Front Porch Initiative team incorporated equipment and appliances from the client’s existing home to reduce construction costs.

Construction began in mid-February of 2023 with CHCMC serving as the general contractor with some subcontractor labor. On August 2, 2023, CHCMC had an open house for all the partners involved to see the home as it nears completion. This first ground-up build will serve as a demonstration home for the organization to expand and provide homes that are affordable, high-performing, and efficiently designed to accommodate the needs of their clients.

Performance

In addition to ENERGY STAR 3.1 (a national energy performance standard program), the Front Porch Initiative team elected to pursue a North Carolina state standard: Green Built Homes. This point-based standard resembles LEED for Homes, but with less intensive documentation requirements. The organization’s experience in weatherization has proved valuable in design discussions of air tightness and insulation, and this new construction project has served as a learning opportunity for the construction team, informing their understanding of beyond-code construction. We want to give a special shout out to Hunter Dendy of Eco-Sense in Asheville, NC. Hunter graciously donated his consulting services AND the cost of HERS and ENERGY STAR certifications for the new home.

Long-term Affordability

As the first new construction project for an organization accustomed to housing repair work, this project has provided valuable lessons for CHCMC. Project development has highlighted the need for establishing clear expectations and communication with the client and for understanding the limitations of funding sources. For example, CHCMC learned that HUD funding precludes a deed restriction providing right of first refusal for the organization; furthermore, they recognize that some clients prefer to maintain the option of transferring a home to a relative or heir at default, potentially limiting the number of interested clients.

We are continuing our collaboration with CHCMC on future projects, helping to increase their capacity to deliver replacement homes in the community. 

Press Articles:

Asheville Citizen Times: “Madison housing organization breaks ground on replacement home program: ‘There’s hope again’” by Johnny Casey

A West Alabama Welcome

New kids in Hale (Get to know the 3rd-year class!)

The fall semester 3rd-year students have landed themselves in Hale! They’ve been through the classic “Neckdown” Week experience and are settling into the daily routine of life in Newbern with a busy schedule. Here to introduce themselves and their “hot takes,” please meet:

Elizabeth Helms is from Dothan, Alabama. Hot take: Milk is better with ice in it.

Hannah Wieland is from Fairhope, Alabama. Hot take: Environmental mistreatment is not a consumer problem.

Tanner Wallace is from Birmingham, Alabama. Hot take: Auburn will beat Bama this year.

Caitlin Ranheim is from Brooklyn, New York. Hot take: Taylor Swift made Kanye famous.

Casey Dillard is from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Hot take: Crocs are a must-have shoe.

Jack Felder is from Savannah, Georgia. Hot take: Morgan Wallen stinks.

McAllister Tucker is from Fairfax, Virginia. Hot take: The movie The Wolf of Wall Street is bad.

Kati Warner is from Huntsville, Alabama. Hot take: The live-action Cat in the Hat is the greatest movie in the world.

Bailey Kennedy is from Memphis, Tennessee. Hot take: Dasani tastes good. Spring water is the real criminal.

Kylie Kennedy is from Birmingham, Alabama. Hot take: Architecture is hard-core arts and crafts.

Luke Bradberry is from Suwanee, Georgia. Hot take: We aren’t actually in school right now.

Emma Johnson is from Birmingham, Alabama. Hot take: Pancakes are better with peanut butter on them.

Emma Avery is from Enterprise, Alabama. Hot take: Pineapple is the best pizza topping.

Shannon Brennan is from Newburyport, Massachusetts. Hot take: Cruise ships are a scam.

Cayden Davis is from Coleman, Alabama. Hot take: Auburn will go 10 and 2.

Model Homes or Pod Life?

The 3rd-year class is split up in living spaces this year! While you may be familiar with Rural Studio’s typical “pod life,” the rest of the crew is down the road testing out the Model Homes. Not only did we get to take the annual 20K House tour and make trading cards for each home, but some of us get to live in Joanne’s, Mac’s, and Dave’s Model Homes. When asked how she liked living in Mac’s Model Home, 3rd-year McAllister Tucker answered that she enjoyed, “getting to share a bathroom with only two people and having an in-house kitchen.” She also said an upside is, “having donkeys as neighbors, but the downside is you can smell them.”

Bailey Kennedy, living in the Cardboard Pod at Morrisette House, said that she likes how the pods are on the main campus, “it’s an awesome spot for Enos [hammocks], and it feels like you are a part of the tradition of Rural Studio.” The Model Homes may have donkeys, but the Pod residents are visited every night by Booty, a wandering dog who was first seen scooting across the lawn nearby!

Outside of shared meals and class, Auburn football is what brings these two groups together. The Model Home kids came to the pods to watch the Auburn-California game on the projector one Saturday. No matter where they live, each 3rd-year student is enjoying their time among their friends at their home in Hale. 

Studio Kickoff

This semester, the 3rd-year class of Fall 2023 is charged with the task of completing Rosie’s Home. This has been an ongoing project since Fall of 2021. We started with creating a digital 3D model in Rhinoceros of what has been built so far. Not only did we learn which details still needed designing, but we figured out stick-frame construction in the span of a week and got to know the ins and outs of this project. During pin-ups at the site, we were able to meet our clients, Rosie and Frankie. 

In this project, we are exploring possibilities with healthy building alternatives, specifically with insulation and interior finish materials. We started with a tour of all the 20K Homes Rural Studio has built in the last 18 years. To understand these precedents, we made a set of trading cards of all the houses. The cards included the materials used in wall construction, as well as what principles they embodied according to “The 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building” by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 

To begin the design process, we broke into teams based on particular interests for the semester. The selections are as follows:

Millwork and Framing Team: Shannon Brennan, Elizabeth Helms, Caitlin Renheim

Enclosures Team: Bailey Kennedy, McAllister Tucker, Kati Warner, and Hannah Wieland

Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Team: Luke Bradberry, Cayden Davis, Casey Dillard, and Jack Felder

Interiors Team: Emma Avery, Emma Johnson, Kylie Kendall, and Tanner Wallace

Then, we split up and discussed the design focuses and procedures we would have to work through as a group of fifteen and in site teams. After, we were assigned to do interior perspectives of the living space so we could all decide together the big picture questions of designing the inside of the house. Once we make these decisions as a class, we can begin the last phase of construction—the interior space!

Woodshop, What’s Up?

In the Woodshop this semester, the 3rd-years are going to build renowned chairs! We are split up into five groups of three. Each group is going to tackle a different chair designed by a famous architect and complete it by the end of the semester. The instructor for Woodshop class is Steve Long, and he has started by giving interactive tutorials on processing wood and using the equipment.

Before starting the chair, we have been making detailed drawings and storyboards of the production process. In order to get us more familiar with woodworking, our first mini project is designing and making a cutting board.

History Seminar

Dick Hudgens’ first class in Seminar of Aspects of Design was a dye workshop with Aaron Sanders Head. He taught the class how to make dyes naturally from plants so we could make our own watercolor palettes. Our first field trip in the class was a visit to Glencairn! Glencairn is a house built in the 1830s which has been preserved for visitors. The class toured the house and drew the ground floor plan along with a front elevation.

Life in Hale…

At Rural Studio, we like to stay busy whether we’re building houses, making watercolors from plants, or constructing chairs from scratch. We carry our creative enthusiasm into after-hours. In our downtime, we love to venture around Hale County. We make our way to Greensboro every Thursday night for trivia or bingo at The Stable, or some nights we head to Nick’s Crispy Chicken on Highway 14 where you can find the best catfish po’ boy this side of the Mississippi River. Another great spot is the Newbern Mercantile, known to us regulars as “The Merc,” right in the heart of Newbern. On the weekends, we love to seek out antique shops and visit local markets.

We’ve probably spent more time outside in the last few weeks, than all the years of childhood recess added up. Just the other morning, some students visited a previous 5th-year project, the Birding Tower in Perry Lakes Park. Here they climbed five flights of stairs just to watch the sunrise. We heard it was well worth it. The country has its perks even if it’s just driving around to watch the sunset over the catfish ponds. 

Check back soon to see us hit the ground running on site at Rosie’s Home! The final construction push has begun and we can’t wait to show you what’s happening!

Stop, Sit, and Stair

Summer ended in an absolute blaze. And so did the finishing touches on Patriece’s Home! Before we get sad and sappy, here’s how the old sweaty 5th-year “leftovers” team completed construction of the project!

The team designed a configuration of off-the-shelf cabinets to fit into the kitchen space of the home as an L-shaped kitchen. With the help and approval of the new homeowner, Patriece, they selected a shade of green to paint the cabinets as well. After the paint and a protective coating was applied, the team used their immaculate intuition (but mostly a laser level) to perfectly align the cabinets and fasten them into a wall. 

Next, the butcher block countertop sat perfectly atop those even cabinets. Voila! A kitchen! 

Well actually, there’s a little more to it than that. The students installed LED strips along the top and bottom of the upper cabinets to light the kitchen workspace and help illuminate the room. The team also designed the lighting in the kitchen spaces—with the help of consultant Thomas Paterson of course—by building “valance,” or cover, for the lighting above the sink. This was the light from the unshaded bulbs that can be cast down onto the workspace and reflected off the ceiling. 

On to the bathrooms! The team want to give a giant “Thank you!” to Mark Smith and Lewis-Smith Supply for donating all the home’s faucets, toilets, and showers. The toilets went in quicker and easier than the team anticipated. Much like the kitchen cabinets, the students installed the bathroom vanities. Then, it was finally time to install the home’s three sinks. The moment of truth came when the team turned on the water supply to the house. It was nerve-racking but successful. No leaks! The veins of the house are full, and the fixtures look nice and elegant in place.

Now, the moment we know you all have been waiting so eagerly for: the hatches. You know, the hatches are ducted to the whirl birds on the roof to drain hot air out of the upstairs in the summer and to shut the house tight to keep warm in the winter. Okay, well, even if you don’t remember, here they are! There are all part of the strategy to subtly, passively cool Patriece’s Home. 

Now for a little bit of interior glamour! The team decided to line the interior of the stair walls with tongue and groove cypress, just like the wood on the porches. Then, they used 1x boards of the same cypress for the treads and risers of the stairs. Now, the entire stair well space is a warm, woody wonderland. And it glows! The team routed out the underside of the stair handrail for LED strips, so that light is cast onto the steps without being obstructed by the person walking. It turns the stairwell into an orangey, glowy nightlight for the rest of the house as well. 

The nook is another special detail at the stair landing. Cypress is used to frame the seat and can be removed for a small, chest-like storage space. Then, on the back wall of the nook, the team color matched the paint of the cabinets to some fabric and used that fabric to make a cushioned wall! Now, when someone sits in the nook seat and chats with someone else in the kitchen, they can rest their back on a soft surface. 

You think those stairs are fancy for a Rural Studio house? Well, the team has another trick up their sleeve! The pantry storage space under the stairs is now enclosed in doors! The team bought three hollow core doors, cut them to the right size and installed them as a single swinging door and one bifold door.

To match the under-stair doors, the team did the same thing and created attic doors that close off the storage space between the trusses of the attics and the upstairs bedrooms.

Finally, on to the finished floor!! The team originally planned to leave the concrete slab as the finished floor but changed their mind, placing a laminate flooring (LVT) through the whole house for a more comfortable, even finish. Many thanks to Interface for the generous donation! The team looked at samples and chose a color that is similar to the original concrete so it agreed with their interior finish colors and the cypress on the walls. Once the team placed an underlayment felt, they were off! They floored the whole house in about three days! Lastly, the baseboards were nailed around the base of the drywall, and the largest tasks of the home were over.

With their days in Hale County dwindling down to a few, the team ran through their punch list. The paint was touched up, towel and toilet rods installed, showers and windows cleaned. On the outside, grass seed was spread and watered, trash and the burn barrel were carted away, the porch was pressure washed, and a concrete paver walkway between the parking and porch was set into the ground. 

With the house gleaming, the team took their final photos, and then let the professional in to do his thing. Thank you, Timothy Hursley, for ensuring the completed Patriece’s Home will be remembered forever. 

The Patriece’s Home team loves their other Rural Studio cohort’s teams very much, so they waited until August 26th to celebrate and open their project at the same time as the C.H.O.I.C.E. House! 

The big day started on the Patriece’s Home front porch. Everyone was sweating buckets in their nice attire and the 104-degree heat, but there was so much for the team to be grateful for, the team didn’t care. 

Lauren has just moved herself and her bestie cat, June, to Huntsville, AL, to start working at Fuqua and Partners Architects. What a Queen! 

Daniel has a fancy new ring to wear to go with his lovely new WIFE! They have both moved to Birmingham, AL, where he will be working for Seay Seay & Litchfield Architects (and knowing him, probably some woodworking on the side). 

Laurel was accepted for the Ghost Residency with McKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. She’ll get to intern for the firm, working part-time on a farm, and hopefully won’t freeze to death! 

Adam is going to keep on designing and building! Rural Studio consultant, Kiel Moe, has convinced him to move to Chicago, IL, where he will help complete a house project. Finally, he’s gotten a house to work on that’s rid of the rest of the team (kidding)! 

This project was not just built by these four but so many others who gave them much needed help and guidance. The team is so thankful for the support of their donors, consultants, and Rural Studio faculty and staff. They are also so grateful for their families who kept them sane and student colleagues who made Hale County home for a time. 

Finally, Patriece and her children were the best possible clients the team could have received, and it was such an honor to build a house for them to own and live in.

Well, goodbye for now. See ya at Christmastime at the Cheesecake Factory! 

Xoxo,

The Patriece’s Home Team 

Rural Studio Receives Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists at the White House

Andrew Freear accepts the 2023 Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists at the White House.

On September 12, the Japan Art Association (JAA) announced its selection of Rural Studio as a 2023 recipient of the Grant for Young Artists. Wiatt Professor and Director of Auburn University Rural Studio Andrew Freear traveled to the White House to receive the Grant on behalf of the Studio.

In 1988, on its 100th anniversary, the JAA established the Praemium Imperiale, a global arts prize to honor Prince Takamatsu and annually given to artists in painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and theatre/film. In 1997, the Praemium Imperiale expanded to include an annual Grant for Young Artists, most often given to organizations rather than individuals. The nominating team identifies those who “actively contribute to the development of young artistic talent.” Each year an international advisor to the JAA selects the Grant’s recipient(s) from among the worthy nominees. This year, Hillary Rodham Clinton served as the international advisor and selected Rural Studio and the Harlem School of the Arts for the Grant. Rural Studio is the first recipient in architecture in the Grant’s 27-year history.

We couldn’t be more delighted! It’s heartening to see architecture education recognized and supported. It’s especially heartening to see the rural take a spotlight. As Director Freear notes, “There’s a perception that design is just part of the culture of cities or urban places. To bridge this misconception, it’s important to bring young folks into an isolated rural place, like Newbern, to encounter the many provocative design challenges and opportunities.”

The ceremony was the icing on the cake. It began with a brief video montage featuring each of the honorees. First, the video introduced the Laureates: painter Vija Clemins, sculptor Olafur Eliasson, architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, musician Wynton Marsalis, and theater director and artist Robert Wilson. Then, it introduced the recipients of the Grant for Young Artists, the Harlem School of the Arts and Rural Studio.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden welcomes 34th Annual Praemium Imperiale laureates, Grant for Young Artist recipients and attendees to the White House on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.

The ceremony was held in the East Room at the White House. After the Laureates proceeded to the podium and were seated, Dr. Biden gave a rousing opening. She poetically remarked,

The artists we honor today invite us to join a conversation with the world, to step beyond the limits of our imagination. It’s a conversation that speaks across borders, languages, and centuries; as we tilt our heads to see just one more angle, bend our ear to take in just one more note, our hearts and hopes reach toward each other.

Her apt description of the “conversation” captures the conversations we have not only within our discipline but with those for whom we build and those who make architecture possible.

Honorary Advisor Mr. David Rockerfeller, Jr., gave a concise history of the Awards and noted that the Praemium Imperiale is “one of the world’s most important arts awards,” with “its mission to recognize the vital role of artists in our international discourse.” The Laureate distinction has often been called the Nobel Prize of the Arts. And the Grant for Young Artists facilitates nurturing the next generation of artists. Mr. Rockerfeller noted that artists’ “contribution to peace and understanding has never surely been more important.” Although Prince Hitachi could not join the ceremony because of health reasons, Chairman of the JAA Mr. Hisashi Hieda passed along his respect and his “hope that these Awards will stand as a reminder of how the arts contribute to” worldwide “peace and harmony.”

Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th Secretary of State & International Advisor to the Praemium Imperiale, introduces each Laureate.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments were dotted with gentle humor. She, too, lauded the importance of the Awards, and she called out to past recipients who were in the audience, including none other than two of our good friends, both Billie Tsien and Tod Williams! We’re so glad they could be present. Former Secretary of State Clinton also introduced each Laureate, highlighting their work, then invited Mr. Hieda back to the podium to present the Grant diplomas and call attention to the work of Rural Studio and the Harlem School of the Arts in turn. As Andrew stood on the podium, she described Rural Studio’s “ambition . . . to help students understand social responsibility in architecture through direct involvement in construction work as well as design.”

Hisashi Hieda, Chairman of the Japan Art Association, and Hillary Rodham Clinton present the Grant diploma to Rural Studio Director Andrew Freear.
2023 Praemium Imperiale Laureate Wynton Marsalis

After the live-streamed ceremony ended, in-person attendees were treated to a fantastic live performance by the Harlem School of the Arts All-Stars, accompanied by 2023 Laureate Wynton Marsalis.

Rural Studio is honored and humbled to stand among such talent in such a historic setting.

Final thoughts from Dr. Biden:

But art stops us in our tracks.

It feeds our spirit when we’re hungry for something more. It shows the contours of our sorrows and our joys so that we know that we’re not alone. It brings us back to the beauty and humanity of every moment.

Art matters. And that is why we’re here today.

All photos courtesy of Japan Art Association

Breaking a Sweat and Breaking Ground

Hello dear reader and welcome back to the latest edition of the Rural Studio Bathhouse blog!

Students pose in front of pin-up wall

So much has happened over the past few months and we are extremely happy to share the progress of what’s going on over at the Rural Studio Bathhouse!

Over the summer, we continued to work through the design of the outdoor shower in preparation for construction. The team has decided to use the outdoor shower and its construction process as a mockup for the rest of the bathhouse structure. With this in mind, the team has chosen most of the main conditions and details of the project and will be testing them out in the outdoor shower.

Drawing of a floorpan
Outdoor Shower Plan

We have also welcomed back some incredible reviewers to provide feedback on the design and construction processes regarding the outdoor shower!

This mock-up will provide the team an excellent opportunity to learn what works and what may need to be reconsidered before the construction of the rest of the building.

While the team was busy designing, the large pine trees and underbrush that were in the way of the building were removed and the stumps were ground, leaving the bathhouse site clean and ready for construction!

In August, the bathhouse team quickly moved into action on site. After learning how to construct batter boards we set them up for the area around the outdoor shower. After this, we pulled strings to level and mark out the foundations on the ground.

At the end of August, we broke ground on the foundations for the outdoor shower! Digging the foundations by hand at this time of year was challenging, but we all made it through some of the hottest days in Hale, unscathed.

The team continued more recently with preparing the foundations for concrete. This has included leveling the trench, cutting all pieces of rebar for the footings, assembling the rebar cage in the trench, and preparing the upturns, which will tie into the CMU block walls that lift the floor of the outdoor shower six feet off the ground!

Finally, as of writing this blog, the team has reached a huge milestone in the construction of the outdoor shower. We have poured the concrete for the foundation with the help of our amazing classmates and professors!

Students pose with poured concrete

Moving forward, we are so excited to continue with the CMU block walls, preparing for the forming and pouring of the elevated slab, and the stacking of our wood walls!

Drawing of a face on a 2x6 board
Also, goodbye from our dear friend, Plumb Bob!

Thanks for reading along, and we look forward to sharing our progress again very soon!

– Rural Studio Bathhouse Team

Carla, Ambar, Ashley, and Logan