details

Make A List, Check It Twice

June 16, 2022

Welcome to Summer in blazing Hale County, Alabama! The heat and humidity have set in and the team is hard at work preparing to break ground. Before we can start, we have a few things to smooth out: details, deconstruction, and a mock-up. 

The next steps are to begin expanding the current foundation footings and replacing the columns. First, we will need to deconstruct some of the pavilion as it currently stands. In order to understand the deconstruction/reconstruction process better, we have created a storyboard of the process, sketching out each step, while also showing where each piece of equipment will be on site at each stage.

students working
The team sketching out the construction process

In preparation, we have been regularly meeting with our structural engineer, Joe Farruggia, to finalize structure calculations. We also recently met with JAS Design Build (Seattle, WA) to get feedback on the framing model that we have been utilizing to understand the process of framing our structure and had a visit from architect Dan Wheeler (Chicago, IL).

Meeting with the JAS Design Build team about framing strategies

JAS Design Build’s team confirmed that we are on the right track and offered some suggestions on how to manage a cantilever using lookouts that extend out to help reach the “knife’s blade edge” detail. Meanwhile, Dan challenged us to study how the steel skirt at the base of the column will come together and how the lighting design of the base relates to the overall concept.

Reviewing designs with Dan Wheeler

Soon we will construct a large-scale mock-up (which is a right-of-passage here at Rural Studio) that helps the team practice details at a one-to-one scale. We have begun to finalize the details of the finished roof and ceiling materials. The mock-up gives us an opportunity to test the metal and new details, while also practicing pouring concrete footings, building a column, and testing lighting.

Tune back in next time for an update from the team. Until then, stay hydrated, it’s hot out here!

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Summer Shenanigans

June 9, 2022

The Patriece’s Home team, affectionately known around the Studio as the “Stairs Team,” just hasn’t gotten enough of Hale County! Now college grads and no longer students, Adam, Laurel, Daniel and Lauren picked right back up and finished their details mock-up as “leftovers.” The team is using their mock-up to test metal shade devices for windows and the articulation of their wood-clad porches.

A model of a wall with corrugated metal siding and a window with black shade devices around it.
The team's detail mockup covered in ZIP panels
The team'm mockup complete with metal siding and flaching
a female student cuts metal panel with a circular saw
the team's mockup with a panel of metal siding of a slightly darker color

After hunting through differing foundation types for their home, the team talked to Tyler from C & T Excavating Inc. and is now moving forward with a plan to sculpt the site with engineered fill for their slab-on-grade foundation.

A Sketched perspective from the home's front porch interior looking out onto the landscape and front driveway
A sketched perspective from the home's side porch interior, looking toward the trailer
An Ariel perspective of the home on the site with manipulated topography lines
A male student in sunglasses uses the site level.
Students and faculty gather around a metal stake in the ground as a consultant talks while holding a pole with measurements on it.

Patriece’s Home has been focusing on the landscape opportunities in their home’s design. They are not only using natural, space-making tools to ground the house on the site, but to shape and protect areas of outdoor activity, such as play, sitting, parking, and driving. The team Zoomed with Emily Knox, a landscape architecture professor from Auburn University, to discuss their design for siting home, how the landscape design can extend across the whole site, and both existing and potential “materials” (trees, shrubs, grasses) for the site.

a plan diagram of the manipulated topography lines
a plan diagram with blue arrows shows how water shed off the site
a plan diagram of the different zone of use on the site.
an axon perspective of the driveway entry to the site
a plan sketch of the proposed landscape plan of the site
an axon diagram identifying the existing trees on the site

Thankfully, the team had their mock-up and details ready to be reviewed because our friend and consultant Dan Wheeler (from Wheeler Kearns Architects in Chicago, IL) showed up again! Dan had an intense design discussion with the team about the wood cladding on the interior and exterior of the home. He left the group with lots of tips and a positive direction toward establishing a character for the wood details. Let’s see what the team decides!

a sketched perspective of the interior stairs clad in horizontal wood that has been cut to equal lengths.
students gather around a man kneeling as he points to a drawing on the wall
a sketched perspective of the interior stairs clad in horizontal wood that has been cut to equal lengths.

And because the team is itching (literally, the mosquitoes are waking up) to start work on site, they completed their batter boards for their excavation date set in two weeks! They will be in the business of purchasing, perfecting, and tying loose ends as they eagerly await this date. So wait for the next blog post when the team will be playing in the dirt!

Until then, here is a gallery of some Hale County summer shenanigans!

a student pets a dog in their studio
the camera is looking through the site transit and frames an image of a student sticking their tongue out with a measuring pole
a faculty member looks at his birthday pie
a sunset over a field in hale county
students working at their desks in studio
a cake with writing that is congratulating a student and a section axon of a past design made of icing.
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Next Time You See Me, It’ll Be On Site

May 9, 2022

Since our last update, the team has been digging, chopping, drilling, and sawing our way through the project, so let’s catch up!

First up, mock-ups. To better understand the details of the project in three dimensions, the team jumped into a 1:1 mock-up of crucial project details and so far, we’re learning a lot. More than just dusting off our chop saw skills, building several details at full scale is a way for us to reflect and improve upon some of the decisions we made on paper. For example, we learned from testing the window framing that making the rough opening stud continuous not only creates fewer pieces, but allows a direct load path from header to foundation. We’re also testing the character of the porch assembly and how we can marry our desired aesthetic with required bracing for wind uplift.

hailey and davis installing trusses
raymond installs blocking
team members frame a wall
team installs porch truss
AC fabricates a column

To prepare to break ground, we called in a local contractor to do some serious tree removal that was beyond our capabilities, and simultaneously ripped up the existing chain link fence to create equipment access and give us a chance to fully assess its condition and salvageability. The site has never looked spiffier.

site before clearing
cleared site

And how could we not give a toast to Pig Roast?! The first ever two-day Pig Roast went swimmingly, minus the part where our team ran into a rain shower and came out looking like we’d gone for a swim. It was the first time many members of the Uniontown community were able to see the project, along with our parents, friends, and many Rural Studio alumni.

davis marks window on site
hailey in the sleep space
team at pig roast
pig roast fireworks

The following week stayed just as busy as teams prepped for our second Executive Review. This was a make or break moment for the future of the project, but after an intense two-hour review, all three teams were given the green light! This means it’s full steam ahead for construction.

team meets for stress test

Oh yeah, and all twelve 5th-years graduated college three days later! What a week! Diplomas might be in the mail, but things are just getting started in West Alabama. The team is taking a few days off to relax and be with family, but y’all better believe the next time you see us, it’ll be on site!

Also, a big thank you to our parents for letting us stick around West Alabama for this next phase: building the C.H.O.I.C.E. House. And to our 3rd-year friends returning to campus this fall, we’ll see you next time in Hale!

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This Little Light of Mine

April 14, 2022

April has arrived which means the heat is beginning to creep into sunny afternoons, pollen has layered every outdoor surface, and the Moundville Pavilion Team is making decisions. In recent weeks, we have met with visiting architects and lighting consultants and have begun to get into the nuts and bolts (literally and figuratively) of how to detail the elements of the pavilion

Open for Spring

After Executive Review, we started to find a middle ground between the form and function of the column design. We had Pete Landon and Cameron Acheson from Landon Bone Baker Architects out of Chicago, IL, out for a review of the team’s work.

The team presented their designs to Pete Landon and Cameron Acheson
Under ridge detail
Top of column detail
Ceiling and roof edge detail
detailed drawing of ceiling panels
We sketched the prefabricated ceiling panels.
The structure of the roof and ceiling sandwich the trusses.
The clips attached to battens hold up the prefabricated panels.
The column tapers out to 12″ and then meets a steel skirt that emerges from the ground.
The team discussed the tapered column mockup with Pete and Cameron.
We cut and built the column mockup using foam insulation.

They helped the team focus on the longevity of the roof surface; since the pavilion will reside in a heavily forested area, a durable surface is critical to withstand decomposing pine straw and potentially fallen branches.

This rendering shows the family of tapered wood columns and the steel skirts below.

Turning on the Lights

Since the pavilion is located in the campground and the space will likely be inhabited after dusk, the team has been researching lighting strategies in order to provide safety and usability at night.

The team sketched how the steel skirt could be used for lighting and electrical.
We created mock-ups of lighting in the steel base.

In addition to modeling some hidden fixtures options, the team met with lighting designer, Thomas Paterson (Lux Populi in Mexico City, Mexico) who explained possible lighting methods that can relate to the concept. Most recently, we tested lighting schemes on-site.

testing lighting under pavilion
The team tested lighting under the ceiling mock-up using lamps.
A handful of different lighting directions and positions were tested.

After finalizing more details within the roof and ceiling structure, it was time to start working on a large-scale framing model. Next up, is the annual Pig Roast Celebration!

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This House is Lit

April 13, 2022

Howdy from the Patriece’s Home team! The trees are turning green here in Hale County and the 5th-year projects are emerging from Winter with pent up energy and an excitement to build!

A computer modeled image of the house with wood interior porches and light grey medal siding.
three students look at drawings on a table
A computer modeled image of the house with wood interior porches, dark grey medal siding, and a red door.

Since their last blog post, the team completed a soil test at their site and starting identifying the home’s location on the site. They’ve also been busy developing a landscaping strategy, pushing forward with a zero eaves strategy, and designing warm, wood-clad porches.

one male student holds wood while another male student swings a sledge hammer to drive it into the red clay soil.
two students and one reviewer point at drawings pinned up at the fabrication pavilion.
one female student uses a post hole digger in red clay soil.

Rural Studio students have a myriad of consultants and reviewers checking over the designs and advising the projects. Recently, the Patriece’s Home team had a visit from Pete Landon and Cameron Acheson of Landon Bone Baker Architects in Chicago, IL. The students received feedback on how they could consider detailing the column and headers of their wood-clad porch.

a screenshot of a zoom with the team, their professors and two reviewers. A plan with wheelchair clearances is displayed on the shared screen.
a screenshot of a zoom with the team, their professors and two reviewers. Plans and elevations with artificial light are indicated on a shared screen.

Next, the team met Cheryl Noel and Ravi Ricker of Wrap Architecture in Chicago, IL, for a successful code review of the home, The team then proposed the home’s lighting strategy to lighting designer Thomas Paterson of Lux Populi, from Mexico City, Mexico. He advised the team that the light desired in a home at night is not the same character of light desired during the day.

A computer rendering of the house with light gray siding is photoshopped on an image of the site.
A computer rendering of the house at night is photoshopped on an image of the site.
An exploded axon on the home shows the daylight inside the house.
An exploded axon on the home shows the fixed light inside the house.
An exploded axon on the home shows the task light inside the house.

The students decided to take a trip to the 20K Model Homes at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to review the amount of daylight the windows provide and test what ideal nighttime lighting would be. For Patriece’s Home, the team is designing wall-mounted lighting to cast general light into a dark room and layered task lighting to illuminate highly used surfaces and spaces.  

two students use paper and a light bulb to mock up a pendant light over a table.
a student used a light bulb to mock up a light above the kitchen sink.
two students use light bulbs to mock up two wall mounted lights on the same wall.
two students use light bulbs and cardboard to mock up lights on a porch.
two students use light bulbs and cardboard to mock up lights on a porch.

Patriece’s Home most recently met with Rural Studio’s structural engineer, Joe Farruggia from Chicago, IL, for advice on when it is best and most economical to use laminated veneer lumber (LVLs) instead of dimensional lumber in the headers of the home. The team is also getting extremely detailed in the design of the cabinet and electrical plans, imagining how to design spaces for the hundred-year lifespan of the home.

A scan of sketched elevations of the home's kitchen cabinets.
Three students, and two Advisors talk next to a table with construction drawings.

The Patriece’s Home team is sprinting toward Pig Roast, Executive Review 2.0, and graduation, all in the next three and a half weeks! The students will begin buying materials, moving dirt on site, and constructing a full-scale mock-up of the home’s details. Stay tuned! Thanks for checking in on the project!

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