Horseshoe Courtyard

This week a small group of 3rd-year students helped Caleb and Claudia at the Horseshoe Courtyard. The work began with a trip to Selma to restack approx. 3,000 bricks (in storage) from pallets that had deteriorated in preparation for moving them to site in the near future. Upon returning to the site, the team helped remove formwork from a recent concrete pour and continued painting the exterior of the building along the alley on the north edge of the site. The 3rd-years also helped clean off and sort some of the bricks that were already on site, which will be used for the brick pad portion of the courtyard. The Horseshoe Courtyard space is quickly transforming since the walkway and metal work have gone up, the site has been graded, and gravel spread.

20K Ophelia’s Home

Starting week two, a new group of 3rd-years were given the opportunity to work on 20K Ophelia’s Home. Students created a new French drain, which took quite a lot of digging. Many of Ophelia’s cute “babies” (aka her cats) came to greet the new 3rd-years.

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As the week continued, several students helped work at Morrisette House, where a small shed was being demolished, while others installed sun shades blinds around the front porch of Spencer House to provide a shady area for future project critiques. 

Week two has left the new students sore and tired, but more excited than ever for the semester. Hard work and game nights are drawing the seven students closer than they expected after only two weeks together. Between working on an actual job site and exploring detailed construction documents, the students are learning that hands-on experience provides a new perspective compared to a typical studio.