The “Diners,” a.k.a. the Dining House team, have been refining their design palette. The team has used the boiling hot Hale County summer in part to let the design detailing simmering. And they’re preparing for an exciting, eventful start to the upcoming semester. 

Let’s take a closer look at what the team has been whipping up this summer!

Eager to zest up the day-to-day design process, the team started June with a small mock-up on concrete. They let thoughts and drawings marinate in the studio while they considered how leftover wood from the mill could create interesting textures for the concrete piers. Accordingly, the group created a set of four 12” x 14” wood forms to experiment with wood textures. Then, a few days later, they broke the samples free from the forms and took notes on their samples. The team learned a lot even from blending the batter-like concrete mixture, and they now understand the textures they might use. 

Getting back into the Studio, the team further developed structural details in preparation for a meeting with Joe Burns, our engineering consultant.

The drawings helped define how some of the architectural components would come together: the column-to-pier and rafter-to-column connections, as well as the ridge tie connection. The engineer clarified these details with specifics like bolt sizes and dimensions of metal connectors. One goal behind the “structural bent” design—the transverse rigid frame—is creating a simple visual palette with milled lob lobby pine and minimal metal work.

With more context on the structural bent, the group also has been resolving some spatial proportions in the north and south rooms, as well as studying window details with insulated glass panels stored in the Studio’s barn. Overall, the team has been focusing the recipe on responding to the specific ingredients at their disposal. With the help of Jake LaBarre, the team mocked up the Dining House’s space under the Fabrication Pavilion to test its floor-plan dimensions and heights. And the team reduced the size of the glass connections on the insulated panels with the help of Dan Wheeler. 

Now with more details reaching al dente, the team can focus on refining the site drainage, plumbing, and electrical plans, and on finishing the foundation drawings, leading them, hopefully, to a groundbreaking very, VERY soon. 

Speaking of finishing drawings…take a look at the latest renderings of the Dining House!

We hope you’ll tune in soon to see what the team cooks up next month!