Project 01 – Container House: Oklahoma Land Rush

In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only nine percent of family farm income comes from farming, and more and more of our farmers are looking elsewhere for their primary source of income. - Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture
To begin the semester, students will be designing a residence for a client who has recently purchased farmland in North Texas and intends to build their complete residence in multiple phases.  The intent of this first phase is the equivalent of a land claim.  This first house will serve as useful shelter, efficient workspace, and a place to facilitate work on the remaining phases of the project.  This will be an architectural exercise in self-sufficiency, flexibility, and sustainability.  As a foundation for meeting these objectives, the house will be constructed from steel shipping containers.

Project 02 – Live/Work Barn: Rural Industry

 One out of every 12 jobs in the economy is connected in some way, shape or form to what happens on the farm.”     – Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture
To continue the farmstead project, students will be designing a live/work space to expand their client’s presence and capabilities on the site.  In the second phase, the client is establishing a farm or rural-based business and needs facilities for the operation.  In addition, the client wants to expand the living space they currently have in their container house and develop something more permanent and comfortable.  Since there is already a container house on site, the client has requested that the existing containers be integrated with the new building in some way so the investment in the first house is not lost.  This will be an architectural exercise in adaptation, industrial systems, and sustainability.  As a foundation for meeting the objectives for this phase, the new live/work space will be constructed using a pre-engineered metal building system.

Project 03 – Farmhouse: The Rural Compound

I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world. – George Washington
In this third and final phase of the semester project, students will be designing a permanent single-family home for their farmstead.  In the third phase, the client is establishing a complex of buildings that provide a self-sustaining rural existence.  The client will have a functional and flexible home, on-site business, and guest quarters.  This will be an exercise requiring students to work around a central architectural concept to unite all of the buildings on site.  For the project's farmhouse, students will design a home inspired by traditional (vernacular) farm houses.  Research for this phase will revolve around these traditional rural house types.
In phase III, students will use two separate books as starting points in their research:Students will work to understand how a historical/vernacular residential house type be transformed into a modern, functional residence through design thinking.  The container house created as part of phase I will be utilized for other residential functions on site (guest house, caretaker’s apartment, mother-in-law suite, etc.).  Students will determine the new use of this space as part of their work on the final phase of this project.