ReggiesHome

In Hale County

December 14, 2020

Yep! We’ve been here the whole semester! It’s time, dear reader, to spill the beans on our comings and goings, our hopes and dreams, our successes and failures, and our project. Come on in, make yourself comfortable. Pour a hot cup of tea, listen to our story. The tale of Rev. Walker’s Home project team is only the beginning.

Field with cows in Hale County — A common sight in Hale County

Our journey, as 5th-year Rural Studio students, begins in Hale County, in August. The county is a sparsely populated, tapering rectangle in West-central Alabama. The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains find their end in the northeast corner of the county. The densely forested rolling hills of the northeast quickly give way to the astonishingly flat plains known as the “Black Belt.” This area is named for the rich soil that is optimal for cultivation. Greensboro is the centrally located county seat populated by 2,291 residents. Ten miles south of Greensboro on Alabama Highway 61 is Newbern, home to Rural Studio headquarters. In Newbern, the beloved Red Barn, can be found. Red Barn, the workspace where the us Rural Studio students put pens to paper. We spend a lot of time in Red Barn, and its leaky windows and visibly tilted walls endear us to it.

Rev. Walker’s Project Team hard at work in Red Barn

The beginning of each semester at Rural Studio is marked by “neck-downs.” Neck-downs defines a time dedicated to maintenance of studio grounds, small projects, and the assistance of teams whose projects are in the construction phase. This Fall, neck-downs included repairing facilities at Perry Lakes Park in neighboring Perry County, assisting the Horseshoe Hub Courtyard team on their site, and taking care of odds-and-ends on Morrissette Campus. Typically, neck-downs lasts one week. This year, it was extended and incorporated into our studio schedule. Some of the work is ongoing and gives us moments throughout the week to put away the pencil and pull out the shovel. “healthy bodies, healthy minds” our captain, Andrew Freear, likes to say.

Neck-downs extended from the Horseshoe Hub Courtyard in Greensboro to Perry Lakes Park near Marion

group of 13 students pose together at Perry Lakes Park — Neck-downs extended from the Horseshoe Hub Courtyard in Greensboro to Perry Lakes Park near Marion

Simultaneously with the site-work around the area, our entire 5^th-year student cadre worked to further the exploration into post-frame structures and formulate a thesis. The idea, first proposed by the 2020-2021 outreach master’s team, uses a post-frame structure to reduce construction cost and timeline. Our charge is to take the system and the efforts of the outreach team and expand on it in two didactic ways. We started by touring past projects around the county, exploring ancient barn structures, and documenting local building trends.

Taking note of the trend in the area to expand one’s home as means and needs allow, the 5^th-year thesis project’s has developed into two expansion approaches. One strategy is a home underneath a large roof, provided by a post-frame structure, on an expansive foundation that will enable an owner to quickly add enclosure without compromising structure. This is Rev. Walker’s Home strategy. The other is a home that encourages interior expansion and customization by bringing the post frame structure into the envelope of the home. This is the Myers’ Home strategy.

Diagram of Reverend Walkers Home — Reverend Walker’s Home

Our team is designing and will be building Rev. Walker’s Home. This team was chosen in an age-old ritual, of which here I will not tell. We like to think of ourselves as hardworking, strong-willed, opinionated individuals who can even be considered fun. I am, of course, the leader of this motley crew. My name is Taterhead the Cat. I enjoy drooling on unexpecting scratch-givers and surveying my land, which Rev. Walker’s Home will occupy. I am a skilled delegator. My leadership style is strict yet fair, and I expect only the best work from my team.

The Site Cat being scratched by student — Team Leader: Taterhead the Cat Purrveyor of Wisdom

Here’s the rest of them: Becca, George, Paul and Addie. Becca has a three-legged cat named Rocko and is the maker of the fantastic yellow hats seen above. George is just a dude with no distinct personality traits. (Editor’s note: This is an unfair representation of George, a very impassioned individual.) Paul likes to spend his time collecting objects from the ground. He likes sheds. Addie has a dog named Pat. She drives the biggest truck in Hale County.

It will not be an easy path to walk with this lot. Their refusals of scratch-giving will be met with reprimand. But rest easy, dear reader, for I am at the helm and will guide the ship to clear waters. My hope for this journal is to provide a clear account of our journey to the edge and back, and to bring you along with us.

Until next time – Taterhead.

Tags: 20khome, 20KProject, halecounty, meettheteam, neckdownss, post frame, post frame home, ReggiesHome, Rev.WalkersHome, rs5thyears

Building a Catalog

April 18, 2020

Work over the past couple of months has been very different than what we are used to. Shortly after moving to working virtually it was decided that due to COVID-19 our project would be put on hold until it is safe for Rural Studio to resume normal in-person operations. This means that we are wrapping up the work we have done this year and a future team will carry on the process of designing and building a home for Reggie. With this in mind, our team is creating a book that contains our research and design strategies up until this point. Our hope is that the next team will be able to pick up where we left off and be able to provide a home for Reggie in an effective manner.

During the past seven months we have had the unique opportunity of getting to know Reggie through our time spent on site with him. Our book’s goal is to tell the story of both Reggie and the site, including everything we have learned about him and what will help a future team pick up where we left off. In an effort to tell Reggie’s story we are explaining the history of the site, what it currently has to offer, and what possible improvements can be made. Reggie wants to live with the site, so our focus has been to stress the idea that Reggie’s Home should be thought about as, “the site is the house.”

Axon showing site conditions when we arrived

To help explain what the site has to offer and show the research our team has done over the past seven months, the second part of our book is a documentation of site analysis. In an effort to provide information that we hope would be most beneficial for the next team, we asked ourselves two simple questions. What does this site have and need in order to support its occupants and function properly? How can the entire site become the home? This section is mainly focused on what systems are already in place on site and what can be added to improve Reggie’s lifestyle.

Axon showing different soil types on site

We’ll be working the next couple of weeks to finish the rest of the book. It will include our design process and a proposal for the future. We understand that a future team will most create their own design so we hope that through this book they will be able to use the information to move forward in their own way and grow to love Reggie the way we have. We are thankful that we have been able to be a part of his story and are excited to see what the future holds for the next team.

Look out for a link to our finished book in the near future!

Thanks for all the support thus far!

Reggie’s Home

Tags: bookmaking, designbuild, ReggiesHome, rs5thyears

Virtual Studio

March 19, 2020

This week Reggie’s home has been transitioning to working remotely for the upcoming weeks. Although we are sad that we won’t be able to work in Red Barn we are happy we can continue with our design development. This means that our week began by getting settled into our new “studios”.

Zak's at home desk setup — Ashley’s Desk

After talking to Reggie we decided that we would move forward with the “two porch” scheme because we can have the same qualities as the dogtrot scheme, but build less. This scheme allows for a “front porch” that would function as the outdoor kitchen where Reggie sees himself spending most of his time and a “back porch” that would function as his tool storage area as well as a space where DJ (Reggie’s dog) could be let out, but be contained. We continued to do sketches to see how these two porches relate to the interior of the home and what the levels of enclosure would be required to distinguish all the spaces.

Reggie's Home team zoom call — Team Zoom call to discuss sketches

After discussing the sketches, we decided it would be a good time to begin creating 3D models of our plans to help visualize the spaces we are creating on site. While doing this we plan to keep in mind the moments we’ve been trying to create from our past schemes: an interstitial space where Reggie could work, a bedroom and desk with specific views to the exterior, and an enclosed outdoor space for DJ. Having a clear idea of what we want these moments to be will allow us to have a simple design that is made complex by the way it is occupied.

Perspective of the screen porch area. — Porch with desk

Perspective of the bedroom. — Porch with desk

Until next week!

Reggie’s Home

Tags: designbuild, ReggiesHome, remote working, rs5thyears, sketching

A Muddy Presentation

March 9, 2020

At the beginning of the week we (Reggie’s Home) had our “Pre-Stress Test” which is a review with Auburn University faculty to show our progress with the project. During this review it was determined that the best way to move forward was to show Reggie our design and get his input on the decisions we have made so far. We presented on site so we could help Reggie visualize where we plan to place the home.

Reggie's Home team pictured with Reggie and his dog DJ — Post-presentation with Reggie and DJ

Due to the constant rainfall our site was pretty muddy but we didn’t let that stop us from presenting on site. We showed two schemes to Reggie. One which includes a dogtrot that separates the bedroom/bathroom from the living room/kitchen and another which has all the program together with a porch on the east and west sides of the home.

Drawing of "dogtrot" scheme on site — Dogtrot scheme

Drawing of "two porch" scheme on site — Dogtrot scheme

Reggie was very receptive of the way we imagine him living in the house. One thing we need to keep developing is the outdoor kitchen space because that is where Reggie imagines spending most of his time, rain or shine. In terms of schemes Reggie liked both of them, so our next step is to determine which one would achieve the moments we want to create in a better way.

Plan showing movement in summer — Summer Plan

Plan showing movement in fall or spring — Summer Plan

Until next week!

Reggie’s Home

Tags: designbuild, Prestresstest, ReggiesHome, rs5thyears, site presentation

Let’s Heat It Up

February 24, 2020

This week Reggie’s Home has been focusing on what systems we could use to make the Alabama climate feel more thermally comfortable. Reggie does not want A/C in his new home which means our design has to focus on heating and cooling using passive methods. While considering what passive strategies to use it has been important for us to keep in mind that although the summer can get very hot, Alabama is actually a heating climate. This means that there are more days in which spaces would need to be heated rather than cooled. So far we have been researching cooling with simple methods like cross ventilation, the use of a fan, and using a dehumidifier. In terms of heating we’ve been looking at how we could use earth tubes and a wood stove.

Diagram showing heating and cooling in the bedroom — Diagram of earth tubes in cooling and heating conditions

Earth tubes are tubes that run underground and precondition the temperature of incoming air before it enters the building. In the winter, the ground is warmer than the air, meaning that the air is warmed as it passes through the tubes. In certain climates it is believed that earth tubes can change the temperature of the air up to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. While doing this research one big question always comes up; how do we know it’ll work in our climate? Lucky for us we have been able to gather data from Earth tubes used in our own backyard!

Watercolor showing how Earthtubes work underground — Watercolor done by the 3rd-year team that built the earth tube and solar chimney for the storehouse.

Marlyn installing temperature sensor near Earthtube intake — Watercolor done by the 3rd-year team that built the earth tube and solar chimney for the storehouse.

In 2016, a combination of earth tubes and a solar chimney was used as a passive system for the storehouse on Rural Studio’s Morrisette Campus. The exchange was optimized to create a temperature difference of 15 degrees Fahrenheit between the exterior and interior. In order to test if it’s working the way it was designed we placed temperature sensors outside the storehouse and within the tube in the interior of the storehouse. Through the months of December to February we can see that on average the highest temperature change is 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Graph showing temperature difference between the inside and outside of the storehouse — Data collected in the month of December

Now the question becomes, how much of a difference is 6 degrees Fahrenheit when it is 32 degrees Fahrenheit outside? This leads us to research different methods that could work instead of or in addition to earth tubes. To help with heating we have been exploring the option of a wood stove which would work as a constant space heater within the home. If placed correctly, a wood stove would be more than enough to heat the entire home.

Diagram showing heating and cooling in the kitchen. — Diagram of a wood stove in cooling and heating conditions

This coming week we will continue to move our design forward and use the research of these systems to determine how we can optimize the performance of the home. In the mean time enjoy these pictures of the team incase you forgot what we looked like!

Until next time,

Reggie’s Home

Tags: #charette, designbuild, expansion, ReggiesHome, rs5thyears, systems