We’re officially halfway through the Spring semester, which also means we’re three-quarters done with our 5th and final year of architecture school…YAY!!! As the annual end-of-year Spring Pig Roast event approaches, it’s more important than ever for the teams to keep the pedal to the metal and develop their projects to be conceptually sound and technically constructable. In order to get in the dirt prior to Pig Roast, each team has to undergo an Executive Review with Justin Miller, Associate Professor and Head of Auburn’s School of Architecture, and Rusty Smith, Associate Director of Rural Studio.

For the C.H.O.I.C.E. House team, this meant revisiting our concept—now that we aren’t prefabricating and tightening up our drawing set—to reflect our newest ideas about the nature of the roof and porch. After presenting our work to Justin and Rusty, they gave us a helpful critique to move the project closer to construction. The day then culminated in some exciting news: it’s mock-up time! Because the project includes a small laundry space in addition to the units, we were tasked with building the extra volume before Pig Roast as a way to test out all of our details for the units. This means we’ll be working on-site sooner than anticipated, so stay tuned as we dust off our boots and start site prep!