Tom Harper, of Lawrence, attended the open house Saturday for Monarch Village at the Lawrence Community Shelter — along with hundreds of others, he said — and submitted this photo of the Studio 804 classmates.
The University of Kansas class, which is for students entering the final year of the master of architecture program, turned steel shipping containers into 12 tiny homes, each just 160 square feet.
The homes were built with the goal of easing the shelter’s need for noncongregate housing to safely house those experiencing homelessness and houselessness amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early on it was determined that the project would include a community garden with a waystation for monarch butterflies, so the 12 tiny homes have been named Monarch Village.
Harper wrote more on the backstory of Monarch Village in a column last week.
Architecture professor Dan Rockhill and Lawrence Community Shelter Executive Director Renee Kuhl speak in this video of the ribbon cutting, from the shelter’s Facebook page:
Students in the 2020-2021 Studio 804 class are:
Andrew Gonzalez
Brennen Hall
Carson Guy
Dylan Dennis
Emily Hock
Emily Hummel
Ernesto Lopez
Greg DeVeau
James Bibbens
Josh Blake
Kelsie Hancock
Matthew Embers
Matthew Martinez
Megan Kelly
Samantha Eichorn
Sydney Edmonds
Zac Kornis
Mackenzie Laxton
