Our minds and hands have been hard at work whether we’ve been hundreds of miles apart or near enough to smell the aroma of a teammate’s coffee. Over the holidays, the team continued refining the design remotely, focusing on how stair placement affects the floor plan, site orientation, and the way spaces interact inside and outside the house. We tested multiple plan variations and studied how circulation shapes daily life in the home. Even spread across different time zones, we stayed connected through Zoom meetings with our professors and kept pushing the research forward.

During this time, we also deepened our study of balloon framing and explored storage opportunities within the stick-frame portions of the building. These investigations helped clarify how cross-laminated timber (CLT) and conventional framing can work together as a cohesive system.

At the start of the new year, we returned to Auburn to fabricate another CLT test panel. In other words, we’re making our own cross-laminated timber to test. Our goal was to produce four panels in total, but the process came with an important lesson: moisture matters. Much of the dimensional lumber had a higher moisture content than acceptable, forcing us to pause fabrication and wait another week before making the remaining panels.

Our four CLT test panels measure 4 ft. x 4 ft. and designed to let us study the strength of a panel’s middle layer. Each panel uses 1x4s on the outer layers and 2x6s in the core. The thicker inner layer provides greater screw depth and increased load capacity, making the panel more viable for residential construction. The four variations we’ve made test differences in weight, material cost, fabrication time, and structural performance when the gaps are introduced. Our panels have been sent to Auburn’s engineering department for structural testing, and we are currently awaiting results. We also plan to fabricate one more test panel, this time pushing the limits of the CLT press with a much larger panel.

Following “Neckdown” Week (our largely all hands on deck maintenance week), the project entered a period of intensive feedback and review. Architects and educators joined us regularly to critique and challenge the work. Marlon Blackwell joined remotely and pushed us to test double-height spaces organized around the CLT stairs. Kiel Moe guided research into alternative strategies for the stick-built portions of the house. Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg Architects encouraged us to further explore maximizing CLT while minimizing conventional framing.

With continued testing, fabrication, and design refinement, the project is steadily evolving. Our build location has changed to a similar site about 5 minutes down the road, so we’ll also revisit specific site considerations. Each review and experiment brings us closer to a clear, buildable system for this Home.

While waiting for test panel results and better weather, pod construction kept moving. We triple-checked connection details with structural engineer Joe Burns and finalized a very full Lowe’s cart with all the fasteners and hardware needed for both the CLT and glulam pods. On site, we installed vapor barrier tape across the slab, setting things up so the CLT walls can go up next. The drawings are tight, the materials are ready, and the pods are moving into their next phase.

At this point, the drawings are tighter, the materials are ordered, and the slabs are ready. The next phase is less talking and more building. We like that part.