Multitasking: A word that is taking on a very real meaning for the group of four on the Dining House Team! As the construction for the Dining House is officially off the ground, we’re busy bees, juggling three huge jobs: on-site construction, work on the mock-up, and design tasks! Here are a few of our recent highlights from the large Dining House to-do list!
Snacking & working—multi-tasking at its finest
Progress During “Neckdown” Week
During Neckdown of Spring 2026, when we the Diners made some headway by organizing the Studio’s lumber inventory in barns around Newbern. In January, we completed milling all 28 4″ x 6″ pine timbers from on-site trees. These structural members will be used in the final design as tension columns. The largest pine tree available to the Studio was milled down to six 2″ x 18″s, which will be assembled into a ridge beam composite for the Dining House.
On site, the team erected batter boards and mapped out the foundation trenches. We also provided guidance as a team of contractors rerouted major drainage lines, installed French drains, and ensured proper site water mitigation.
Once the footer was dug and underground utilities were prepared, the team went into action, preparing for the first concrete pour of the project. Over the span of a week and a half, the four of us divided and conquered in building rebar cages that were composed of eight sections, intending to support the concrete block wall and piers for the soon-to-come columns.
Leading up to the pour, we team worked hard preparing the wastewater line and readying the rebar for lowering into the trench. This process looked like unusually hot spring days spent shoveling, unloading, and tamping gravel into the footer.
Rebar in its final spot for the footer pour
Moment of truth! Final touches included placing rebar cages, grade pins, and supports into the trench and gathering helpers and tools for the big pour! On the Friday morning of the pour, we were full of nerves and of excitement to get some concrete in the ground. Within an hour, the task was done and there was no going back!
Checking the level of the concrete pourThe final pour all complete!
Natural lighting options for the Dining House
Feeling great with a major item checked off the do-to list, the team worked through design and construction details, mainly addressing lighting strategies. An investigation into skylights led us down a path to explore daylighting strategies—gable roofs with and without skylights!
Using a series of skylight options, we explored how specific task lighting would move through the room, from sunrise to sunset, at different times of the year.
The study helped us to uncover the specific function of light in the process. Thomas Patterson, our knowledgeable lighting consultant, listened to us present the many ideas we developed, our presentations aided by models, digital renderings, and 2-D drawings. We discussed overall goals of ambient light, specific task lighting for cooking, and how materials would be highlighted, landing on a design without specific skylight moments. Our design includes a typical gable, large eastern and western curtain walls, and French doors. We are excited about the amount of glowing and indirect light that these choices will allow into the Dining House.
Interior view of the Dining House kitchen with simple pendant lighting and lots of natural light from the east and west
The last time we saw you, we were gearing up for the greatest mock-up, and boy, do we have updates for you.
The first step in creating the “greatest mock-up” was testing the design and construction of the piers for the dining house. The team augured footings and built formwork for four piers and two concrete pours that would eventually be the first step toward understanding the implications of our design.
After completing the piers for the Dining House’s mock-up, we attacked the main foundation for the mock-up. Starting with trenching for the foundation footing, the team enlisted some help from friendly Welsh student visitors to the studio.
Ensuring alignements inbetween metal structureScreeding concreteFahadi, Sahar, El, and Shoruk among othersFooting trench prepared for block layer
Shortly after the trench for the elevated slab was dug and poured, the block mason came out and did an excellent job laying out the block in its elaborate design.
Following the block mason’s help on the Dining “House’s mock-up”, the team worked quickly to finish up the elevated slab. We filled in the block perimeter with insulation, soil, and waterproofing so we could finish the last concrete pour of the mock-up when we get back from Christmas break.
Foundation infill prior to preparing slabTamping gravel flatInsulation and white plastic vapor barrior installedRebar layed over topConcrete mixed and poured into placeConcrete allowed to dry
After some much-needed time off and with families, the team got right back to work with the last concrete pour. Once we smoothed out the concrete floor, the Dining House finally had a finished floor to begin testing the construction of the building we designed.
After the week of Neckdown and the subsequent completion of the mock-up foundation, our team jumped right into one of the initial layers of a building: flashing. The initial test explored a galvanized steel flashing profile that will hold in the white oak cladding.
Cutting flashingSetting flashing into spaceSill plate i.e. mud sill installation
Step 4: Framing:
Measuring framingPausing to infill structural grout75% of framing up
Bonus round.
The team built a second mockup to refine the oak cladding. The walls are white oak exterior boards, salvaged from the Supershed. On the exterior of the building, the weathered wood is displayed, while 1″ white strips are turned on their end grain, giving a different texture on the interior walls. Behind these 1″ panels, black acoustic material will give the wall a baffle-like function in the dining and kitchen room.
Laying out patternWhite oak pattern (left) will continue into the interiorStudying framingMeasuring spacingCrafting panels
Many more updates to come soon. We have continued experimenting and tweaking material and form. Meanwhile, major action is taking place on the north end of the campus at Rural Studio. The Dining House is taking off with the beginning steps to fixing parking and drainage infrastructure, while also preparing the groundwork for a foundation! More on this later!
As the weather begins to cool down, we have been quite busy preparing for Halloween Reviews. Now that we’re halfway through the semester, we are starting to see significant progress on Mark’s Home. Here’s an update on what we’ve been working on!
Site: Trussing the Process
We left off in the last post with pouring the 4-inch concrete slab roof for the FEMA saferoom at Mark’s Home. Fast forward to today: we were able to peel off the several layers of formwork to reveal our successful concrete pour!
With the foundation and the saferoom structure completed, we shifted our focus to the framing and truss design of Mark’s Home. In studio, we refined the framing plan developed by the previous semesters of 3rd-Years, paying close attention to the FORTIFIED Gold standards. This process has included extensive iterations of roofing and framing designs, along with collaboration with engineers to ensure the structure and roof of Mark’s Home are durable and safe.
Next, we created a 1:48 physical model of Mark’s Home that allowed for an interchangeable roof to test different truss designs. This activity led to the unanimous decision to feature a scissor truss above the outdoor workspace. Additionally, we met with our client, Mark, to get some insight into window and door decisions. We gained a deeper understanding of how he intends to use the house’s spaces and how our design decisions can better serve him.
Most recently, we ordered our lumber and spent the past week framing the house’s walls. We plan to finish framing before Halloween Review and putting up trusses is our next step!
More rebar!Pouring the safe room roofGetting our hands dirty (literally)Truss testingHey Mark!Getting the house all framed upHeader-making teamWalls going up!
Woodshop: Measure, Measure, Cut, Repeat
Since our last blog post, we have been spending our days on site and our nights in the woodshop, where we’ve been working on our cutting boards. The famed “Chair Project” has been officially assigned, and multiple iterations of full-scale hand drawings prepared each team for the work we will produce. Our tutorials and practice have made us confident using the shop tools. After that, our first assignment was to design a cutting board to provide even more practice for our chairs. We were given a set amount of materials and began familiarizing ourselves with the shop’s tools. The table saw, planer, and clamps became the most popular tools in the shop. Instructor Steve Long helped each of us determine the best course of action to achieve our desired cutting board design. We consider our table saw the heart of our shop, and for our cutting boards, we used it to make almost all our cuts. In the shop, we have many sleds that serve as jigs to help our craft be as safe and precise as possible. These sleds will allow us to make the intricate cuts for our chairs.
All of the teams have been working diligently to complete mock-ups of their respective chairs. We have been learning the ins and outs of steam bending, mortise-and-tenon joints, angles, and hinges. Most of us have not had the opportunity to practice fine woodworking skills, so we are excited to start working on our craft. For our mock-ups, we were tasked with making the most challenging part of each chair. By completing the key element of the chair, each group is confident and ready to begin constructing the final product in the upcoming weeks.
Creating cutting boardsMeasure twice, cut once!Using the table saw to make precise cutsCutting board in processTeamwork making that dream workNew cutting board
History: A Stroll Through the Past
So many places to see! We have continued to visit more historical sites all around Newbern and the surrounding areas, from Bluff Hall in Demopolis to the impressive Thornhill estate perched high on a hill. Instructor Dick Hudgens has had us do more sketches at each location, from quick 3-minute perspective sketches to fully detailed 30-minute elevations, and now that we have all been armed with an impressive variety of homemade watercolor dyes, we have even been adding color to a few of our sketches! Our first watercolor sketch assignment was of The Oaks in Greensboro, which had the personality and character to warrant more than a simple elevation sketch. Our second watercolored sketch was of the famed Green Barn right in downtown Newbern; its “John Deere” green siding and the dappled shadows cast on it from the nearby Osage orange tree pose a fun challenge to recreate on paper.
All this work has been in preparation for our recently assigned final project, for which each of us was given a picture of a unique building in the nearby area, and a picture of a scene in nature, with the task of combining the two images into a new hybrid composition. These will be our biggest drawings yet, and they will be watercolored to capture the best elements from the two pictures. All of our sketches are getting better with each new location visit, and our understanding of the watercolor process is improving along with them. Everyone is excited to apply their refined abilities to the new project and create new renderings. In the meantime, we will continue to visit historical sites, with an upcoming field trip to a location in Tuscaloosa.
Getting a tourGreen Barn sketchingWatercolor of Green Barn
Student Life: Tour, Anyone?
Have you heard? Rural’s the place to be right now, so spread the word! We’ve been busy helping our professors give a guided tour to the visiting 2nd-year architecture students, who will be deciding on their 3rd-year options soon. We led our visitors on a tour of Rural Studio’s campus and some nearby past projects, wrapping up at Lions Park to see them off. Not long after, we had our first ever Rural Studio Community Day event. A huge thank you to everyone who showed up for our community and got their hands dirty fixing up the Newbern Playground! While the event was primarily intended for Rural Studio students, we had a great turnout of other extra hands, and amazing students came all the way from Auburn to volunteer.
Outside of events, is that…. a new face? Our 3rd-year teachers Professor Emily McGlohn and Instructor Lauren Lovell helped a new friend in need, Maggie, a stray dog who was feeling under the weather. After a vet visit and some TLC, she’s doing much better. We got to know the sweet and awkward Maggie before she was adopted by our manager of the Rural Studio Farm, Eric Ball.
Most recently, we have a winner in our midst—a bingo winner, to be more specific. At The Stable’s first biweekly bingo night of the year, our very own Emily Fink walked away with a bingo win and a pumpkin. Way to go! We’re still going strong with our 3rd-year trivia night competition: expect to see us every other Thursday night, rain or shine. As per tradition we’ve stayed tight-lipped but are working hard on our Halloween Reviews group costume. Stay tuned to see what we’ve cooked up!
Farm tourWinner winner pumpkin dinnerTaking a break at the clean up dayFamily dinnerMISS MAGGIE!
The last time you checked in with the Dining House team, the students had begun to refine design decisions centered around site placement, thermal comfort, and material palettes. Since then, the “Diners” have been working tirelessly, preparing for the renowned Pig Roast, final Executive Review, and graduation (they said, “Somehow we made it”)!
In the last weeks of the school year, the Diners explored the appropriate structure of and thermal comfort levels for the Dining House. The team has been hard at work milling lumber from Rural Studio’s campus, so they believe that showcasing this lumber as part of the structural system of the Dining House would be an exciting statement of the ethos of the project. Currently, the Diners are exploring creating a “structural bent” system (a transverse rigid frame) made out of the milled and salvaged lumber from the Rural Studio’s “pile of stuff” located in the barns across Newbern. The structural bent would support the roof, creating the superstructure over the Dining House, much like a pole barn.
Floor plan with the 6-foot grid beforeFloor plan changing to 8-foot grid separated from the building box
Underneath this superstructure two insulated cores would hold “hunker down” spaces, containing comfortable areas during the peaks of winter and summer, complying with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code. These “hunker down” spaces would cap the Dining House and allow for an open kitchen in the middle. This central kitchen would be opened up for light and air to augment the space. A porch would extend from the main dining room, stepping down into the western courtyard beside the Dining House. An operable wall of doors could be propped open, bridging the interior and exterior spaces 3rd-years enjoy.
As Pig Roast and the Executive Review approached, the Diners believed that a full-scale mock-up of space and structure would be a nice break from studio and give the team the hands-on tools to adjust scale and arrangement. In the days leading up to Pig Roast, the team moved to the site and constructed a full-scale mock-up of the bent system! Using 2x4s and plywood, the team built two bents that replicate the length, width, and thickness of the planned bents. The Diners, with the help of other teams, hoisted the bents into place, and clamped them to the scaffolding to test the scale of the Dining House. It was hard work, but the team had a great time building something with their own hands.
When Pig Roast had finally arrived, the group was ecstatic to show off their genius work to their friends and families. With a day full of presentations, bad jokes, and comical walk-throughs, the Diners couldn’t be happier with the progress they made, or more thankful for all the hands that have guided them along the way.
After Pig Roast, the Diners had a quick celebration and then got right back to work. A few days later, Executive Review II arrived. The team worked tirelessly again to have an effective meeting with the clients of the project. The review focused on the relationship of structure to envelope, and how to further the idea of a pavilion-like structure that protects the boxes underneath. Focusing on details and structural drawings, the Dining Team got helpful feedback and positive support for continuing the design of the Dining House.
Just a few of the great drawings and details the team is exploring!
Off to commencement!
After the team survived their final Executive Review, graduation time was here. The Diners drove back to Auburn. Celebration and reunion with old friends and classmates marked the end of one finish line, and the start of another.
The Diners finally made it to the finish line of their academic careers (so far), and they could not be happier!
Hello Newbern and hello Rural Studio friends, we are the Fall 2024 3rd-years! We want everyone to get to know a little bit about the new kids in town with a game of question roulette. We asked 4 questions to each person and scrambled the answers here on the blog. Can you guess which answer goes with which students? And can you figure out the questions before looking below at the answers?
Ella, from Aurora, IL
Go-go Squeeze
Ashley, from Sumter, SC
Frankie
Daniel, from Enterprise, AL
Cycling Mountain Bike
Hadley, from Dripping Springs, TX
Architecture
Eliza, from Chesapeake, VA
Sophie
Sophie, from Houston, TX
1 Eggo
Emma, from Cincinnati, OH
None for me
Rylee, from Jacksonville, FL
Tire shop
Caroline, from Marietta, GA
Ski jumping
Margaret, from Gadsden, AL
Snuffy
Danny, from Chapin, SC
Burnt peanut butter and jelly
Bella, from Bowling Green, KY
Breaking
Haeseul, from Prattville, AL
Crackers
Isaac, from Auckland, New Zealand
Rock Climbing
Gigi, from Huntersville, SC
Club minis and Theraflu
Sarah, from Augusta, GA
Architecture
Rachel, from Leesville, SC
Trampoline
What were the questions? What Olympic sport could you win gold in? What did you eat for breakfast this morning? What was the name of your first pet? What is your major?
It’s “Neckdown” Week!
The 3rd-years conquer Neckdown… kind of.
It’s not Rural Studio without Neckdown, the week when we put our backs into maintenance and building! This year we got our hands dirty helping across Newbern and Greensboro. Some of us had a chance to help repair the wood deck of the Great Hall, where we have our meals and host many lectures. Others had the opportunity to help leftovers complete tasks for their projects, which meant a lot of digging. But every one of us helped organize red barn, and if we do say so ourselves, that place is well arranged.
Yes, the week was hot, yes, we got up early, and yeah, we carried some heavy things, but it was worth it to be able to help Rural Studio and the Hale County community.
Chiseling overflow concrete on the Bath House projectReplacing decking on the Great HallCutting new decking boards
Studi-YOOOOOO
The 3rd-years meet their new client, Mark.
Before we dug into designing, Emily and Andrew played tour guides for past Rural Studio projects. Then we spent time creating exploded axonometric drawings of past Rural Studio homes. The highlight of our semester must be meeting our client, Mark. Talk about first impressions! We arrived at his property to the smell of smoked sausages and orange juice. We were worried that he might be overwhelmed when swarmed with all 17 of us, but he greeted us all with a big smile.
We went back and sketched at Mark’s existing home and did about a billion (8 each) sketches to help us understand how he uses his space. We are excited to take on this project and get to know Mark.
Students tour past Rural Studio projects at Lions ParkLunch lecture with landscape architect Mary Margaret JonesStudents meet their client, MarkPinup of exploded axonometric drawingsStudents share a meal with Mark
Lions, Tigers, and Chairs, Oh my!
Instructor Steve Long introduces the 3rd-years to the Woodshop’s famous chair project!
We’ve spent the first few classes in the (freshly painted and reorganized) Woodshop being introduced to our semester-long project. We were divided into groups to spend the semester studying the design and construction of wooden chairs designed by famous architects. Steve Long, our instructor, sent us on our first quest to find out all the information we could on how our assigned chairs were constructed. We presented our research and fresh new hand drawings showing the chair’s assembly. We are just a few (hundred) steps and tutorials away from a pristine copy of these wooden masterpieces.
Students learn how to make cutting boardsInstructor Steve Long teaches students how to safely use the planer
DIY with Dick
Instructor Dick Hudgens and the 3rd-year class take on watercolors!
For our first seminar, we joined Aaron Head at Sumac Cottage to learn how to create dye and charcoal from our natural surroundings! In this class, we had the opportunity to watch Aaron’s process from plucking to painting from many local species that he foraged around Greensboro. We also got to work by scavenging and snipping sticks to create our own charcoal.
Our next stop was Magnolia Grove, where we learned the history of the home and the context of its vernacular architecture. We’re looking forward to all our trips this semester with Dick!
Students at Sumac Cottage for watercolor workshopLearning how to make watercolorsPoke berry used to make magenta watercolorSticks used to make charcoalHistoric ceramic and glass pieces found at Sumac Cottage
It’s Jumpin’!
3rd-years settle into their new home!
We kicked off the semester by celebrating our August birthdays with a sunset picnic at Spencer House. Continuing to take advantage of the surrounding nature, 3rd-years went tubing at Perry Lakes Park and picked flowers at the Rural Studio Farm! We also got our hands dirty at the community cleanup Saturday morning, cleaning up trash in downtown Newbern. Capping off the semester, 3rd-years hosted a potluck for the new 5th-years, testing the limits of how many people can fit in one kitchen…
On the way to the birthday party!Feeding the donkeysFlowers from Rural Studio FarmDinner with the 5th-years
