Design Build Studio

FIVE MONTHS LATER...the true test has begun.

5 studio + 3 seminar + 1 professor + 1 Jeremy = Green Oak Initiative Materialized.

Step Zero: deconstruct

Step One: get the wood

This was harder than we imagined. After weeks of phone calls to local sawmills, we started the telethon. Each of us was frantically googling sawmills in every surrounding state; we catalogued, pitched the Green Oak Initiative, and finally dropped our phones as soon as Hunter yelled "You all owe me drinks!" 

4:30pm Wednesday, September 23, the wood arrived from South Carolina. They told us we had three hours to unload and the clock began as soon as we cut the cants loose. By the time 7:30 rolled around we had sweat drenched t-shirts, several pinched fingers, a bundle of aching muscles, and most importantly we had the wood unloaded into the atrium of the Art+Architecture building. 

No more pretending. Now that we have the main ingredient, we need to build as quickly and carefully as possible because every day that wood shrinks a little bit, so does our window for construction.

Each 14'-16' member weighs in at about 150lbs wet. Thanks to Hunter Todd's home scale we know that one foot of a typical cant weighs exactly 9.85lbs right now.

Two weeks into building: two massive bents stand precariously upright before us. We've already encountered one casualty. Lesson learned- metal clamps become weapons when they fall from 16'. The number one rule on the building pad is if this thing starts falling, run away.

Final Review

On Monday, April 20th 2015, our studio had our final review for our Green Oak Project of a design for a bunk house at Red Bird Mission in Clay County, Kentucky. Reviewers Kevin Stevens and Katherine Ambroziak from The University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design, as well as Mark Sanderson, one of the Principals at DIGSAU architects in Philadelphia and Brian Court, a partner with Miller Hull Partnership in Seattle, gave us their time, experience, and expertise for a few hours. We presented them with twelve boards, a model, and physical 1:1 scale mockups explaining the work we have done this semester.

They reviewed our research and design and believe that the work we have done looks thorough, competent, and overall like a successful project. They gave us constructive criticism and advice ranging from specific construction methods to presenting alternative ways of thinking about architecture, design, and construction.

Our work this semester seems to have been successful. We still have some things to take care of concerning handing this project over to the next set of students so that they can actually build it. Building it will be the first true test, and then evaluating the building's sustainable design qualities and construction methods. It will take some time to truly validate our work, but we all believe that the work we have done will do some true good for the people of Clay County and for any designers who wish to use our research as a precedent for their own designs.

Winning Gold at University of Tennessee Knoxville EUReCA

At The University of Tennessee, Knoxville we have our annual Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement. Even though we are still designing and our final review for this semester is less than a week away, we took the time to create a poster and give a presentation at the exhibit. This year the Green Oak Initiative won Gold in the Architecture and Design category. 

The exhibit showcased many projects and it was exciting seeing all of the work all these students have done and the potential that research projects can do for the world. Being recognized for the work that we have done this semester, as well as showcasing the work that students have done in the previous semesters, was wonderful. We are also glad we are spreading the word about the amazing work we are doing that we know will be doing some real good once we can utilize this material and construction methods.