Annnnnd they’re back!
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.
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.
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.
