KU architecture students open projects in Pinkney, East Lawrence to community

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Post updated at 10:48 a.m. Sunday, May 12:

Capping a busy week for KU architecture students, two classes held open houses Saturday to reveal the culmination of their work on homes in the Pinkney and East Lawrence neighborhoods.

Studio 804 is an award-winning graduate architecture studio led by Dan Rockhill that specializes in energy-efficient projects. This year’s class opened their project at 436 Indiana St. to the public Saturday. The new home replaced an abandoned home that was in poor condition.

Studio 804 offers a comprehensive education opportunity for graduate students entering the final year of the Master of Architecture program, transfer students, or professionals — anyone who wants to be a better architect by having had the experience of designing and constructing a sophisticated building in its entirety from the ground up,” according to a KU news release.

“Students work on all aspects of the design and the construction process over the course of a nine month academic year.”

Tom Harper Studio 804’s founding director, Dan Rockhill (left), and Bill Steele of Lawrence Modern

Some of the class’s previous projects have included Monarch Village and another home nearby at 519 Indiana St.

This year’s students include Jackson Bontty, Lily Altenhofen, Lindsay Armstrong, Alex Asbury, Sam Cohen, Daniel Derouin, Karolyn Duke, Claudia Frahm, Liz Fraka, Abby Frankenreiter, Kyle Gilboy, Jodi Gore, Nolan Johnson, Andrew Jundt, Seth Kennedy, Mikala Liley, Jared Lombardi, Quinn Manring, Jase Owens, Erica Pham, Sam Phillips, Cooper Plaster, Adam Powell, Madison Schaefer, Morgan Siemers, Andrew Stender, Ved Varma and Whitten Wicker, according to a page by Bontty on Archinect.

Dirt Works Studio, a class of third-year architecture students led by professor Chad Kraus, unveiled a solar-powered, mass timber home at 1140 Oregon St.

The home, called Phoenix House, was developed in collaboration with the local nonprofit Tenants to Homeowners. The home will assist community members who are transitioning from houselessness to a secure home, according to a news release about the project.

“This unique home has been designed using an innovative cross laminated timber (CLT) shell, wrapped in a highly-insulated and air-tight building envelop, and clad with a black wood rainscreen,” according to information the class provided.

“The interior of the home is characterized by exposed and highly durable materials and surfaces, including exposed cross laminated timber walls and ceilings and exposed concrete floors with radiant floor heating. Exposed wood surfaces were prioritized due to recognition that wood materials provide documented regenerative and stress reduction outcomes through the appealing aesthetics of color, tactility, smell, humidity-regulation, and indoor air quality.”

This semester’s Dirt Works students include Reese Gilmore, of Leawood; Corrie Bolton, of Fulton, Missouri; Julia Bond, of Kansas City, Missouri; Grace Beirne, of St. Louis; Morgan Campbell, of Overland Park; Makenna Dawson, of Blue Springs, Missouri; Hayley Ford, of Olathe; Aidan Hall, of Downers Grove, Illinois; Alyda Hunnicutt, of Leawood; Morgan Kime, of St. Louis; Spencer Landis, of Fenton, Missouri; Adin Mehanovic, of Kansas City, Missouri; Samantha Weidner, of Barnhart, Missouri; and Amanda Willen, of Florissant, Missouri, according to KU’s news release.

Tom Harper Phoenix House, 1140 Oregon St.
Tom Harper
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