Hey there, Rural Studio! It’s been a bit of a change for us 2025 Fall 3rd-Years having to say goodbye to campus for now, but we’re excited to kick off this semester on a high note. These first few weeks have flown by between getting settled in, exploring the community of Newbern and Greensboro, and picking up where the last batch of 3rd-year students left off—building Mark’s Home.

Studio and Site: Rolling up our sleeves

The past few weeks have been spent adjusting to the balance of designing both inside the studio and on-site. We’ve also had the pleasure of finally meeting our client, Mark. He’s been incredibly welcoming and excited to see the progress on the site, often offering us cold drinks from his cooler!  

Our first objective was to familiarize ourselves with the previous 3rd-year students’ design of Mark’s Home and its stick-frame construction. We were tasked with reading and analyzing construction drawings—for many, it was their first time—and turning them into a model in Rhino 3D.

Our next assignment was to study and recreate a set of various sawhorses. This assignment was critical, both in learning how to use power tools safely and in growing accustomed to team projects. Our first set of sawhorses was put to the test by a 500-pound load. While none broke, we quickly recognized the flaws in the initial designs. The following day, we brought out a new set of drawings that either added lateral bracing or incorporated details from the others. Every single group’s sawhorse improved significantly, and it was a success! Now, we have eight sets of sawhorses that will be the backbone of our work on Mark’s Home. 

After creating our sawhorses, we got busy designing and building the formwork for a 4-inch concrete slab roof for the FEMA saferoom for Mark’s Home. We will be pouring that slab soon, so stay tuned!  

Woodshop: Shop talk with Steve

Along with the hustle and bustle of “Neck-down” Week, site visits to Mark’s Home, and exploring local architectural history, we have been preparing for work in the woodshop with professor Steve Long. For a lot of us, this is the first time we have worked with shop tools, not to mention learning the precision of fine woodworking that the class requires. Thankfully, Steve knows this, and he has been more than happy to teach us not only how to use the tools of the shop safely, but also to explain the process in a way that makes using wood more approachable.

The past few Woodshop classes have been loaded with tutorials, methods, safety practices, and ways to keep the woodshop as incredibly clean as it is now. All of this has been in preparation for the Chair project—an opportunity for us to work in groups and reverse-engineer some of the most famous chair designs in the world. We will then build our own replicas of them based off what we have learned. With all of the groups getting started on the first few rounds of full-scale chair drawings, fine tuning the dimensions, and getting an understanding of the assembly process, we are excited to get to work and build them in the upcoming weeks.

History: Taking a closer look

For the past three weeks, we have jumped into our History class studying Greek revival architecture through site visits to local houses. Our instructor, Dick Hudgens, has a story for every room we have visited so far. We have been practicing our sketching skills and focusing on correct proportions. Next week in our class, we will be making watercolors from natural elements to add some color to our sketches. 

So far, we have visited Magnolia Grove in Greensboro, AL, and Gaineswood in Demopolis, AL. Both locations offer weekly tours that focus on the architecture and the history of the house.  Some of our favorite added fun facts from Dick are as follows:

Emily B, Magnolia Grove: The self-supporting spiral staircase was built one step at a time, using each previous step to support the structure as a whole, rather than being tied into the structure of the wall. 

Solana, Magnolia Grove: US Congressman Richmond Pearson Hobson lived at the house with his sister, Sally Hobson. He had a separate staircase built on the outside of the house that led to a window in his bedroom, so he could enter his room without talking to his sister. Dick removed this staircase on one of his Magnolia Grove restoration projects because it was potentially dangerous. 

Hope, Gaineswood: On the trim of the stairs is an image of the Vitruvian Wave, which symbolizes a constant, timeless rhythm in art and architecture. The negative image of the wave creates a cornucopia, which symbolizes prosperity. The two symbols together wish the residents of the house continuous prosperity.  

Summer, Gaineswood: The roof cannot be seen at any point from outside the house. All the slopes go towards the center of the house to collect the rainwater. 

We are looking forward to exploring more of West Alabama and its architectural history this fall semester!

Student Life: Let’s get into the swing of things!

Guess what? You might have already seen us on the blog, hard at work during “Neckdown” Week. From painting signs to digging trenches, we braved the learning curve and worked hard alongside the 5th-year students, Leftovers, and Super Leftovers. After breaking in our toolbelts, Andrew and Emily led us on a tour across Newbern to visit some of Rural Studio’s previous projects. We had the privilege of speaking with residents of the project houses, and later that week received a warm welcome dinner from the Newbern Library board members.

There’s been plenty to keep us busy outside of class as well. We’ve started a friendly competition among the 3rd-Years at the biweekly trivia nights hosted by The Stable in Greensboro, gotten our library cards, braved karaoke night, and attended the weekly pickleball and ultimate frisbee community events—the 5th-Years even hosted a watch party of the Baylor vs. Auburn football game. If we weren’t tired from everything else, we sure are now!

Thanks for checking in to see what we’ve been up to! Next up, more time on site!