Looking for Inspiration...

Our class made a trip to the Rural Studio in Newbern, Alabama to look at their design build projects that they've worked on to help give us some inspiration for our design build projects. It helped us see how to work with materials, what is actually possible to build, and what doesn't work, and how to be part of the community.......plus it was just really cool to finally get to see all the work! The step that students have to take from a piece of paper to actually getting something built can often be a big leap that comes with a whole new territory. The rural studio has been working for many years this way, but our class is new at this, so it is going to be very interesting to see how we make that transition to the built project. I enjoyed seeing all of the work that they have done, and I think it has been a good example for us all to set a goal towards. One thing that I noticed about the rural studio is the community appreciation that they have. They look at the site conditions, the program of the building, and how the community is going to use it and what would be useful to them. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Antioch Church because of how the students worked with the congregation in providing them with a new church since their old one was falling apart. The old church had been used by the congregation for some time, and would inherently have a strong significance to them, so the students made it a priority to reuse the old materials for the new church. The old steps of the church were left in their original place to mark the location of the old church. And the new church was submerged slightly into the ground to provide direct views of the graveyard directly level with the seating area inside. By building the new church, they were also able to provide some amenities that the congregation did not have before, such as bathrooms and a baptistery. The students were able to create something new and useful that still carried with it the history of the old church.