Rosie’s Home

Well Underway at Rosie’s

November 7, 2023

On Site and In Studio

Since dividing into our studio teams, the 3rd-year class of Fall 2023 has hit the ground running. We’re working hard every day to accomplish our goal of completing Rosie’s Home. These days, each site team is working on different tasks to advance the current design challenges and move construction forward.

Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing

The Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing team, known on site as “MEP,” is in the midst of electrical and plumbing systems installation. Luke and Cayden are focused on plumbing design and have installed the ventilation system. They are learning the ins-and-outs of supply lines, drains, and where they all go! While the two plumbers have been hard at work, Jack and Casey are wiring up the house. After many iterations of circuit diagrams and lighting critiques with electric expert Mason, Judith, and Thomas Paterson of Lux Populi lighting design, wires are being run and light fixtures chosen.

Cabinets and Carpentry

In the meantime, Caitlin, Shannon, and Biz were off to a speedy start framing the interior walls of the house earlier this semester. Since finishing the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom walls, they are working with Steve and Judith in the Woodshop on the cabinets that were designed and built in past semesters’ Woodshop classes. The team hopes to imminently install these in Rosie’s beautiful new kitchen!

The cabinetry project for Rosie’s Home is part of an initiative to utilize healthier material alternatives in the prototype home design. These cabinets are constructed with zero-formaldehyde plywood, solid maple, and will use a low-to-zero VOC finish. On site, the home’s insulation strategy uses Havelock Wool (from sheep!), Hempitecture HempWool, and ROCKWOOL. All of these materials have reduced amounts of harmful particulates and binding agents compared to typical fiberglass or spray-in foam insulation.

Interiors

Back on site, Emma J., Emma A., Kylie, and Tanner are working to turn this house into a home through thoughtful choices of interior finishes. The team is building on-site mock-ups of the interior wall and ceiling materials in which they tested finish options. In all this, they are keeping in mind the lessons learned from “The 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building.” Rosie’s interior will likely be paneled in tongue-in-groove cypress planks, finished in a to-be-determined shade, along the more utilized corridor of the home for durability and visual connection to the porch exterior.

Enclosures

On the outside, Kati, McAllister, Hannah, and Bailey are tackling many jobs to make sure the exterior of the home is sealed tight. They have worked at great heights to cut and install skylights, the first in awhile for the Studio—oh, the things you can do with a second roof! They have also cut to size and installed nearly all the exterior metal cladding. Preparations have since begun for installation of exterior wood cladding on the porch wall. The material change on the front porch offers a change in scale and softer material on the most protected, and most occupied, wall of the exterior.

Knock on Wood

Our journey in Woodshop Class this semester began with a fantastic introduction as we delved into the world of cutting boards. With two pieces of maple and one of walnut, we set out to test our new woodworking skills and flex our creativity. The initial cutting board project served as a practice run for all the tools in the shop, allowing us to gain confidence and skill in using these essential tools before diving into the main project of the semester.

After conquering the cutting board challenge, we embarked on an even more exciting journey—crafting iconic chairs. We are divided into five teams, each taking on the task of remaking a famous architectural chair from scratch. This year’s lineup is all classics from the Rural Studio Woodshop chair history books. Which is your favorite!?

Frei Edigio Chair by Lina Bo Bardi
- Kati Warner, Mcallister Tucker, and Cayden Davis
- Luke Bradberry, Bailey Kennedy, and Kylie Kendall
Zig Zag Chair by Gerrit Rietveld
- Emma Avery, Shannon Brennan, and Biz Helms
Standard Chair No. 4 by Jean Prouvé
- Jack Felder, Tanner Wallace, and Casey Dillard
Stool No. 60 by Alvar Aalto
- Caitlin Ranheim, Emma Johnson, and Hannah Weiland

We’re currently wrapping up the mock-up phase, crafting preliminary versions of each chair design. This essential step allows us to address any issues, refine techniques, and fine-tune details before we embark on the final build. It’s a thrilling time as we embrace challenges and ensure our final chairs stay true to their iconic counterparts. Stay tuned for the final products!

On the Road for History

Our history adventure kicks off with a tour of Greek Revival and Federal homes from primarily the 19th century. These historic gems surround us in the Black Belt, offering a glimpse into the past. Guided by professor Dick Hudgens, we explore these homes, examining and documenting their intricate period details and architectural spatial qualities. Sites we have toured so far are…

Glencairn – Greensboro, AL
Magnolia Grove – Greensboro, AL
Bluff Hall & Lyons Hall – Demopolis, AL
Folsom Farm – Marion, AL
Thornhill – Boligee, AL
Gaineswood Hall – Demopolis, AL

But this class is more than just sightseeing, Hudgens challenges us to create quick sketches of these homes, encouraging us to learn by doing. We sketch elevations, plans, details, and sections, making us appreciate and question the architecture in a more hands-on and critical way.

Homework assignments are far from typical. We practice our art and observation skills through small watercolor paintings of landscapes and architectural details. This isn’t just about honing our artistic abilities but connecting with the artistry of the past.

As the semester progresses, our skills culminate in a final, large-scale, watercolor painting. This time, not of historic homes but everyday objects like a carton of eggs or a garden hose in the grass. We’re tasked with turning these items into captivating art, all of this with natural pigments we’ve collected and made throughout the semester!

We’ve just soaked and stapled our large-scale paper for the final project, and our classroom buzzes with excitement. Every student pours their artistic soul into this project, inspired by the historic beauty of Newbern, Alabama.

Stapling paper for final watercolor project

Good Eats and Birthday Celebrations

Time is moving fast here in Newbern, we’re past mid-semester already! In recent news, Rural Studio’s beloved Chef Catherine has returned! Since then Cat’s cooking has been nothing short of impeccable, in our humble opinion. Some of the 3rd-year’s favorite meals include vegetable soup, BBQ pork, and chicken-fried steak. Her return also means an updated salad bar including bacon bits, hummus, and fresh garden lettuce! You can certainly say the 3rd-year class is excited to have Catherine back.

Our class has also celebrated some very important birthdays in the last couple of weeks. We partied for our clients’—Rosie and Frankie’s—birthdays in style. Rosie’s party included a delicious confetti cake with chocolate frosting after a mini review of the house. For his birthday, Frankie hosted a potluck BBQ with the entire studio for his birthday. The 3rd-year students brought Milo’s sweet tea, burger fixings, wacky chips, bacon green beans, ramen slaw, and Kylie’s Famous Corn Dip. Frankie cooked the burgers, Conecuh sausage, and catfish. Judith brought sweet potato pie, Frankie’s favorite dessert!

All in all the 3rd-years have been living the life here at Rural Studio.

Before we go, get to know us a little more! Here are the studio’s favorite meals that Chef Cat has cooked for us!

Biz Helms: BBQ sandwich

Caitlin Ranheim: Beef tips over rice

Casey Dillard: BBQ pork

Cayden Davis: Spaghetti

Emma Avery: Spaghetti

Emma Johnson: Chicken-fried steak

Hannah Weiland: Vegetable soup

Jack Felder: Mac & cheese and steamed okra

Kati Warner: Vegetable soup

Kylie Kendall: Lasagna

Luke Bradberry: BBQ pork

McAllister Tucker: Vegetable soup

Shannon Brennan: Blackened chicken and candied yams

Tanner Wallace: Squash casserole

We’ll get back to work! Check in soon to hear about our Halloween Review and see our costumes! Until then, thank you for reading!

A West Alabama Welcome

September 25, 2023

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

The Fall 2023 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.

Students laying in hammocks under pavillion.

Model Homes or Pod Life?

The living spaces for the 3rd-year class are split up this year! While you may be familiar with Rural Studio’s typical “pod life,” only some of us are living there. 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.

Girl and boy move lumber into neat pile in yard.

Students gathered on residential jobsite discussing drawings.

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 semester 2021. We started with creating a digital 3D model of what has been built so far in Rhinoceros. 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 our own 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 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 their chairs, the groups have been making detailed drawings and storyboards of the production process. To make us more familiar with woodworking, our first mini-project is designing and making a cutting board.

Group of students sitting under a tree in the grass.

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 that has been preserved for visitors. The class toured the house and drew the ground floor plan along with a front elevation.

Group of students gathered to look at 19th century house.

Table covered in jars of watercolor and papers with colored squares.

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.

Two girls hanging out of car watching sunset.

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!

Tags: chairclass, historyseminar, polebarnhome, postframehouse, Rosie's Home, rs3rdyears, woodshop

That’s All Folks

June 14, 2023

Howdy everyone! It’s us, the 3rd-years, for one final time. We’ve had such a great time this semester and couldn’t possibly express how much we’ve enjoyed our stay here at Rural Studio! However, that is exactly what we are going to try to do in this blog, at least since the last time we updated you. Anyway, before we begin, we hope you’ve enjoyed reading as much as we have enjoyed writing, it’s been a pleasure. Now on to the main event.

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Since our last report, we have made some significant site-related decisions as well as major construction progress on Rosie’s Home. We finished sheathing the whole home, installed windows and doors, added window openings on the north and south ends, and installed our metal siding on the back and on the east roof, with the help of the leftovers. As you can see, we’ve been busy, and surprisingly, we enjoyed it. After all of the work we’ve done this semester, it was so nice to finally see some major visual changes, and we are so excited to see how the project progresses when next semester comes in the fall!

Whose studio is it, anyways?

Just to preface, this section might be a bit sparse, BUT, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working hard! Since we’ve been so busy on site, a lot of our studio time has been spent out on the site making important decisions about the future of the project. To make these decisions, we took our work out to the project to get a better visual representation of what our design decisions will eventually become and how they could affect the project in a more tangible way. Some of these decisions include the front porch design, the west facade, and the landscaping, which no other semester can change! Just kidding. We are excited to see how future students push our early designs forward.

Ok, I might have lied a little bit about this section being sparse. If you were a close reader of our past blogs, the site cats had kittens. SHHH! It’s a secret. They are very cute and made our final work days kinda distracting.

Wood = Good

Last time we spoke, we were working on a mock-up of our cabinets system for Rosie’s Home. Well, we did that. It went well. Taking what we learned from our mock-ups, we immediately began building as fast and as much as we could of the final cabinet systems, which will be installed next semester. Safely, of course. We were able to construct and finish roughly 70% or so of the cabinets and have been working on preparing next semester’s students to be able to get right to building when they arrive.

Class is now dismissed

For our final history class, we took a trip to Columbus, MS, where we visited the Temple Heights Mansion and the Waverly Mansion. The weather was perfect, and having a few more opportunities to sketch with Dick Hudgens was the perfect way to end our semester.

The Ol’ Pig Roast

As every student of Rural Studio does, we finished our time in Newbern by attending the famous Pig Roast festival. It was a weekend of food, fun, and presentations. We got the opportunity to present our work on Rosie’s Home and cabinets to everyone in attendance and got to watch our fellow 5th-year friends and “leftovers” (graduates staying to complete work), present all about their amazing projects. We ended the night with some pig, which we didn’t have to catch, and some great music.

A Fond Farewell

It was so amazing getting the opportunity to come and learn at Rural Studio this semester, and we will cherish our time here for the rest of our lives. It was a pleasure writing these blogs for all of you readers, and we can’t wait to come back for our 5th year! Thank you – The 3rd-Years

We’re Still Here!

March 30, 2023

Hello! We, the 3rd-year students, are back (again). We have returned from spring break well rested, newly tan, and ready to work! Since our last blog, we’ve been very busy working on site and in our other classes and are excited to share more about our time here at Rural Studio.

Live From Site

Since our last update, we have made steady and significant progress on the construction of Rosie’s Home. We finally finished the rafters and tied down and bracketed everything that we could. Trust me, we checked. Before we left for break we were able to put up the first set of roof sheathing, which was exciting as it was our first major visual change to the home. Soon we will be working on the gable ends and how we can work more natural lighting into the project.

Some days Rosie’s cats will come hangout on our wood piles and some days we wish we could take a nap just like them.

Studio Happenings

In the Studio, we are continuing our research and exploration of the front porch design. We took our early work and developed a series of mock-ups for a “long-term” hand rendering drawing of our selected porch. These types of drawings have historically been done in past studios and we are very excited to contribute to that “legacy.” Recently, we had a charrette outside of Red Barn to start early designs of Rosie’s porch and the surround area. This was new for some of us and was high productive but also a fun experience.

We also spent some time building our own drafting boards, since we don’t have our own, I know I know the new wave is so lame.

I wonder what this ancient technology was used for…

Wood Shop Could Shop Wood

Continuing from where we left off, we have made significant strides in the design and construction of Rosie’s cabinet system. We have been working to create a more “complete” set of drawings so that we can construct a mock-up cabinet for review as well as eventually build the finished system for installation. Through reviews and research, we were able to learn about last semester’s cabinets and combine them with our own ideas to reach a compromised design.

History In The Making

Since we last spoke, we have visited five houses and produced four water colors, using our custom dyes, for our history class. These field trips included visits to Magnolia Grove in Greensboro, Jemison Mansion in Tuscaloosa, and The Gaineswood Mansion in Demopolis. The last of which was where we encountered a scary doll. Spooky. At each home we were tasked with two sketches, utilizing the magic proportions trick, brought to you by Dick Hudgens, and line weighting to try and get as close as possible to a realistic but quick drawing of the building.

On The Outside

Outside of our busy days working and building and just being fun and interesting people, we like to spend our time playing pickleball with the 5th-year students, who we always beat, and visiting the Wayside Bakery to get a nice snack.

Until Next Time

We have had a blast here in Newbern so far and can’t wait to see what we’ll get up to next, hopefully all good things. The flowers are blooming and the sun is out so we have high hopes for the rest of the semester!

Until then, the 3rd-year students

Tags: designbuild, polebarnhome, polebarnhouse, rs3rdyears

A Windy Welcome

February 8, 2023

The 3rd-year students are back! Rural Studio has welcomed its new students to campus this spring, kicking off the semester with a tornado scare, some porch sitting, and five fresh faces.

A Warm Newbern Welcome

Before the storied Neckdown Week, we picked up right where last semester’s class left off at Rosie’s Home. We are tasked with finishing construction and designing a front porch for the project. But before that, we slowed things down and went on a Hale County front porch tour, as research of course. Our first stop was with Rosie and Frankie, meeting them for some of Frankie’s famous hamburgers in their front yard, taking in the surroundings and getting to know our clients.

students eat lunch at Rosie's home — Lunch at Rosie’s

Conversing outside of Rosie's home — Lunch at Rosie’s

Our next stop was at the Myers’ Home where we enjoyed some lemonade and Judith’s homemade cookies out on the porch. Being a Rural Studio project, the Myers’ porch was a perfect opportunity for us to learn how students in the past had tackled a front porch and how we could learn from their design.

Students talking at a table at the Myer's home — Snacks at the Myers’ porch

Getting lemonade at the Myer's home — Snacks at the Myers’ porch

Next on the agenda was an early morning coffee break with the “leftover” students living at Spencer House. Being new to the program, it was nice for us to get to talk to some Rural Studio veterans and discuss all sorts of things, but most importantly, how they use their own front porch. Here we learned some of the history behind the Spencer House and got to meet Linus, the porch cat.

Students talking at spencer house in the early morning — Coffee with the Spencer House crew

Leftovers on the spencer house porch — Coffee with the Spencer House crew

Moving right along, we next visited Reggie and his porch at another past project, Rev. Walker’s Home. This project is a pole barn structure too, like Rosie’s! We took the time to sketch and measure to get a better understanding of the dimensions we will be working with. After all of that hard work, we took the time to relax and listen to some music.

Students outside of Reggie's home — Reggie’s Home

Student playing guitar at Reggie's home — Reggie’s Home

Taking a break from Newbern, our next stop had us traveling to Whitsitt to meet longtime friends of the Studio, Mike and Frances Sullivan. After enjoying some grilled cheese, taco soup, pound cake, and pecan pie, we did some field work, measuring and sketching the outdoor “shed,” to understand how porches can work in unfamiliar settings. We also saw a buzzing beehive.

Students outside of the Sullivan's shed — The Sullivan’s “porch”

Students measuring the Sullivan's shed — The Sullivan’s “porch”

Students measuring a driveway (closeup) — Measurements to the road!

Lunch at the sullivan"s home — Measurements to the road!

Wrapping up our Hale County front porch tour, we headed to Greensboro to meet Tim Higgins and Aaron Sanders Head to have an afternoon porch sitting. Here we were able to experience a porch similar to Spencer house but one that lived close to the road and close to town. Being so close to infrastructure, this was a great opportunity to study the relationship between the front porch and sound, especially that of semi trucks. Ew!

students talking with Tim and Aaron — Hanging out with Tim and Aaron

Students measuring Tim and Aaron's porch — Hanging out with Tim and Aaron

First Neckdown of 2023

Student painting at the Newbern Playground — Painting at the Newbern Playground

Student cleaning the stairs of the Newbern Firehouse — Painting at the Newbern Playground

Our third full week began at 7:00 AM every morning and saw us helping out around Newbern and Greensboro with Neckdown Week. We helped clean and paint the Bodark Amphitheater, build new raised beds for the farm, fix some plumbing post-freeze, paint the Safe House Museum, repair the Newbern Firehouse, and paint the Newbern playground.

The Return of the 3rds (to Studio)

After moving into our new studio in the Red Barn, we started by taking what we learned from our front porch study and began working on long section drawings. We incorporated the measurements we took as well as the experiential aspects of the visits. The drawings also help create a multimedia drawing with the goal of summarizing our time on the porches. See the finished drawings next month!

Student work (porch study) — Drafts of our porch study drawings

Student work (porch study 2) — Drafts of our porch study drawings

Report from the Woodshop

Our first week of Woodshop class was, to say the least, solid. Hah! We began by studying the past semester’s work on Rosie’s cabinet system and eventually presented a good old-fashioned critique on our thoughts and observations of our peers’ work.

Students talking about cabinets in the wood shop — Discussing cabinets with Steve

Then, we were introduced to our first project, a cutting board!

Color Theory

For our first History class, we met with Aaron to learn how to make our own watercolor/paint dye using foraged materials from around the area including black walnuts, onion skin, iron, cosmos, and sumac leaves. We also learned how to create our own charcoal sticks to use later on in the semester.

Students mixing dye — Learning about the dye making process

Students mixing dye around a fire — Learning about the dye making process

Student charcoal pencils — Look at those colors!

To New Beginnings

We are so happy to finally be here at Rural Studio and can’t wait to share more in the coming months! See you soon!

Tags: pole barn home, Rosie's Home, rs3rdyears