With the fall season in full swing, the team has been busy-bees working away on two mock-ups for the project and some crucial site work to prepare to excavate the foundation for the building!  

In September, the team met with Joe Burns, structural engineer for the Studio. After thoroughly analyzing the load paths of the building, the team realized the structure needed a ridge beam to evenly support the loads and span of the rafters. This meant that the team needed to re-analyze the aesthetic decisions and details, meaning it was time to do some mock-ups.  

Firstly, the team jumped into a quick, one-day mockup. To understand the “noise” of structure in conjunction with the materials they’re using we created a small corner of the building with tongue-and-groove decking wrapping up the side and ceiling of the building–meeting the white oak leftover from the fabrication pavilion–which will play a crucial role in the building’s identity. As most of the white oak cladding is rough sawn and weathered, we tested a few different finishing processes to the wood: planning, sanding, and leaving rough. We were able to understand the details we have been imagining and working out what truly makes the space “noisy.” 

With great excitement, the team also tackled some site work. The first step was removing trees at the back of the foundation and relocating the water line. With the help of Mason, the team successfullylocated the old water line and redirected it in one day! Now, the site has begun to look like a real construction zone. Another element of the site’s progress has been the clearing of trees for the car park/driveway. Once the row of trees was taken out, it was an amazing site to see some of the designs come to fruition. Reactions have been positive thus far!  

The next steps will be clearly defining the parking by infilling gravel and parking stops, as well as fixing irrigation on the site. With the helpfulness of these tasks being complete, we’ve been better able to visualize the building on the site, stringing out the porch, and finishing floor heights relative to the ground.  

While we wait excitedly for more excavation work to take place, we are focusing our efforts on the mock-up of all mock-ups. This one will be a traditional Rural Studio “doghouse” type mock-up testing everything from structure to cladding to glazing techniques. We know that this test of the building will give the team the confidence to understand details we are unclear about. Overall it will be a 8’ x 6’ floorplan testing interior to exterior details and, most importantly, the sequencing we really plan to do in the future with the real Dining House!  

Stay tuned for more updates on the G.M.O.A.T. (greatest mock-up of all time).