Auburn University Rural Studio

Meet our 5th-years—Meghan, John, Trenton, and Amanda—who are starting the #design and #revitalization of Curtis Smith Park, a neighborhood #park located along Highway 69 in Greensboro, Alabama. Check out their first blog post! https://lnkd.in/e_S2tR6g

Today is Rural Studio’s favorite time of year. It’s Halloween Reviews! We also have an extra special lunchtime lecture by our friend and Rural Studio alum Jonathan Tate as part of our 2024-2025 Workshops & Lectures Series. Jonathan Tate is founding principal of the Office of Jonathan Tate (OJT) based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Recent recognition includes AIA National Housing Award (2019 and 2021), American Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Prize (2020), and Progressive Architecture Award (2021). Halloween Reviews is the first public review and critique of 5th-year student projects and teams; this year’s reviewers include Emily Taylor Welty from Tulane University’s Small Center, as well as Alex Krumdieck, David Hill, and Ernesto Bilboa from Auburn University School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Planning. Halloween Reviews is also the mid-term review for 3rd-year students. The day is capped with a Newbern community costume contest and pumpkin-carving competition. Special thanks to The Stable for sponsoring four awards for the competition!

Meet Canon, Aynsley, Tricia, and Isaac on the new Dining House project team! This 5th-year project will improve the amenities for 3rd-year students on Morrisette campus. The new integrated dining and kitchen space will be part of the Supershed and the Pods infrastructure, and it will give students in the Pods more autonomy, make socializing easier, and simplify mealtimes when providing for themselves. Check out the team's first blog post! https://lnkd.in/eTQAT6TK

Congratulations to our 5th-year students—Jake Buell, Julie DiDeo, Meagan Mitchell, and Naomi Tony-Alabi—on completing the 18x18 House! On Friday, October 18th, the team, along with new homeowner, Detyrick, celebrated the home’s completion by cutting a bright yellow ribbon. The event was attended by more than 130 friends and families. The 18×18 House aims to fulfill the need for a small, adaptable, multistory house in both urban and rural settings. It is two stories with an additional half-story loft, which can be used for storage or as an extra sleeping space. Its compact, square shape means that the house can be applicable to many site conditions and contexts. Check out this final blog post about this special day celebrating the 18x18 House, our client, students, supporters, partners, and neighbors! https://lnkd.in/eD6-hzKE Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction Photo by Timothy Hursley

We have one of the great Southern architects in town for today’s workshop and lecture. Roy Decker, principal of Duvall Decker in Jackson, Mississippi, has been a longtime friend of Rural Studio. In the last few years, Roy and his partner Anne Marie have been returning to Newbern annually to visit projects, review current work, and provide feedback to students. Roy’s design practice—which is focused on advancing public health and environmental quality—includes community planning, K-12 schools, state and federal institutions, university buildings, work places, and affordable housing. Duvall Decker has created many iconic buildings in Jackson and around the Southeast. One example is the Cooperwood Senior Living project, an 80-unit assisted living facility in Flowood, MS, that won the 2023 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, together with The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press. Recent honors include 2017 Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York and Game Changer by Metropolis Magazine in 2019. Roy’s lecture begins at 12pm today at Morrisette House! We look forward to seeing what he’s been up to since last year’s visit!

It’s another big week for our students in the 2024-2025 Workshops & Lectures Series. Julie Eizenberg and Hank Koning are here! Founding Principals of Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Inc. in Santa Monica, California, Julie and Hank are deeply invested in inclusive and sustainable neighborhoods and rethinking housing, community, and educational settings. Their honors include the AIA | LA chapter Gold Medal in 2012, Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2019, and the American Academy of Arts & Letters Architecture award in 2021. In 2020, Julie was honored as a Design Leader in Architectural Record’s Women in Architecture Awards. Their workshop begins today with lecture kick-off at noon at Morrisette House.

Mock-up making madness! Sanding, plumbing, tiling, and more in the race to finish their mock-up. Read all about the CLT Core House team's work in their latest blog post. https://lnkd.in/e6gjvW-p

Welcome to our 17 new 3rd-year students! They're starting a new home for our neighbor, Mark. The team's first blog post is live! https://lnkd.in/eiZmvNdQ

Joe Burns is next up in our 2024-2025 Workshops & Lectures Series. Educated as both an architect and an engineer, Joe is the Managing Principal of Thornton Tomasetti in Chicago, Illinois. He specializes in the design of complex structural systems, including earthquake engineering and dynamic analysis. Among his recognition, Joe was a recipient of the American Institute of Steel Construction’s Special Achievement Award and was named to Structural Engineer’s Power List and Engineering News-Record‘s (ENR) Top 25 Newsmakers. Joe has been a regular visitor and consultant for our students over the last few years. We’re thrilled to have him back this week! Lecture kickoff is at 1pm today at Morrisette House.

The 18×18 #House is officially #complete! You read that right. The team added the final touches to this lovely 2.5 story home in Greensboro and now it's almost time to hand over the keys to Detyrick! We are so proud of our 5th-year team: Jake, Julie, Meagan, and Naomi! Read all about it! https://lnkd.in/eScv8czg