Faunsdale, Alabama, is a small historical town located fourteen miles south of Rural Studio’s Newbern headquarters. The Faunsdale Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and promoting the historic and cultural heritage of Faunsdale, approached Rural Studio to help transform one of the oldest buildings in the downtown into a new community center. Originally a doctor’s office, and then later City Hall, the 1905 building has been adapted and given a new life as the Faunsdale Community Center. They hope the new space will strengthen and empower the community by providing new resources such as high-speed internet access and opportunities for new programs like after-school tutoring and music classes.
The existing floor and roof needed to be replaced, but much of the heartwood pine flooring and ceiling joists were salvageable and reused in the design. The salvaged lumber is almost twice as strong as dimensional lumber sold today. In order to accommodate the new community center, three of the four walls were kept as a shell, allowing the completely new, independent structure to be inserted inside from the back.
The interior of the building is an open space, which can be easily changed by furniture to adapt to whatever is happening in the community center. The new back wall is composed all of glass, creating both a visual and physical connection to the courtyard behind the building. The courtyard acts as an extension of the building itself, allowing the two to come together and be used as one large, open space. The front accommodates necessities— a kitchenette and restroom—as well as a small, intimate alcove that looks out onto the street.
