image from Studio 804 website
Last Friday the MarJ and I hopped in the TOIbox and headed east to the University of Buffalo to see Dan Rockhill speak at what we were to find out the 40th anniversary of the School of Architecture and Planning. Despite our directions from Google Maps (it was mostly a signage issue) we were able to find Crosby Hall on the South Campus. We even made it a bit early in order to do our due diligence and poke around a bit in order to see what the program was like before the lecture began. From what we could glean from our observations and some gentle questioning to a student or two the beginning of the Fall Semester dealt mostly with precedence studies. From the projects displayed on the walls the studies were more technical and biased toward passive design strategies but also illustrated the intent behind good precedence studies. The students were not merely creating a toolbox of previously successful projects, instead they were attempting to disseminate the driving force behind a selected design strategy in order to determine if the process and product were successful and (I can imagine) what changes or alterations could be attempted.
After our explorations we found ourselves in a medium sized lecture hall with between 80 to 100 other audience members ranging from students to faculty to alumni. It was then that we were informed that the School was celebrating it's 40th anniversary and that Dan Rockhill was indeed a University of Buffalo alumni and with that the presentation began.
I have been to numerous lectures, I actually enjoy them, especially if they delve deeper into the project's intent instead of merely demonstrating a slide show of built work with only the slightest veneer of the effort and thought that went into each project. This Dan did not do. Instead he spoke deliberately and clearly upon each project's intent, weaving between what the project goals were with his own personal goals and illustrating issues, shortfalls and successes. I was taken aback by a couple of points.
First, he didn't talk like an architect. He didn't talk down to his audience by using big, complex language to muddy and idea; instead his explanations and anecdotes evoked the sort of plain spoken charm that explains his success working with non-profit and municipal groups. He knows how to talk to people and he did a fantastic job Friday.
Secondly, Mr. Rockhill's Design/Build philosophy embodies the almost original beauty behind architect as master builder but couples this pedagogy with a playful exuberance that melds with the theoretical study of standard architectural educations instead of warring against it. The premise is that there is necessity for both. As the process unfolds there is a deliberate attempt to mix theoretical rhetoric with practical application but in doing so simply enough that the associations are manageable in both project scope and style.
The lecture began with Rockhill concentrating on the work of his firm, Rockhill and Associates, a design/build/construction practice that operates out of Lecompton, Kansas. A bevy of slides and stories explained how the projects are designed and built by the firm which allows for a time consuming amount of control and the ability to test new ideas and techniques. By assuming the task of construction explanation of construction techniques can wait until proofed in the field which allows for greater exploration by the designer to be made. As noted in the lecture they were able to be "asking clients for an excuse to practice architecture". Their precedence is the vernacular style of rural Kansas houses exemplifying decades of proven passive design strategies and the aesthetic of rural life. The structures were simple but beautiful and so very damn logical that when the intent was explained it was difficult to imagine any other outcome.
The second portion of the lecture dealt with Mr. Rockhill's design build studio called Studio 804 taught at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. Treated as a separate non-profit by the University, Studio 804 has full immersion design/build curriculum which is gifted one whole semester to design and build a complete structure. What began as an exercise in teaching students how buildings could be assembled became an award winning design studio using "marginalized neighborhoods" in Kansas and Missouri as playgrounds for energy efficient and low cost housing (albeit the latest project, a LEED platinum residential building, is hard to consider "low cost" at $350k). Regardless the projects are quite nice and utilize a rich palette of materials and modern strategies for living not typically seen in affordable housing.
In all it was a fantastic lecture and a wonderful excuse to visit University of Buffalo. I am hoping I was allowed to attend the lecture (I didn't ask ahead of time, I figure if one publishes it online without any stipulations it is considered free reign) and I look forward again to the next excuse to visit. Especially now that I know where I am going.
Books:
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