Ree’s Home was built in 2018 by students in the 3rd-year studio. It is a modified version of Joanne’s Home (part of the Front Porch Initiative product line), which features a square floorplan to minimize total perimeter wall area and maximize the internal volume. Students working on Ree’s Home made a major alteration to the foundation of the baseline home model. Most 20K homes are built on piers for adaptability and to lift the wood-framed homes off of the poorly draining Black Belt prairie soil, but Ree’s Home was designed to be on a raised concrete slab. The slab acts as a thermal mass, increasing energy efficiency, and provides a floor system that will endure longer than one on a house built on piers. It also sits lower to the ground, making it more accessible for the client.
Design of the outdoor space was another major focus of this project, as Ree’s Home is sited near her sister’s house, Geraldine’s Home, which is a 20K built by 5th-years in 2015. Students designed and built a cascading stair that runs the length of the porch and connects the two sisters’ spaces into a shared courtyard. The stairs also double as a seating area. To address the poor drainage across the flat site, students connected natural surface water flows into especially wet areas.
Design of the outdoor space was another major focus of this project, as Ree’s Home is sited near her sister’s house, Geraldine’s Home, which is a 20K built by 5th-years in 2015. Students designed and built a cascading stair that runs the length of the porch and connects the two sisters’ spaces into a shared courtyard. The stairs also double as a seating area. To address the poor drainage across the flat site, students connected natural surface water flows into especially wet areas.
