I’m thinking about trying to expand this blog to allow me to post a bit more frequently and to include some more inspiration from around the internet as well as some more images and thoughts of my own. Most likely, this will mean shorter posts that are easier to digest in addition to the work that I’ve been showcasing already. We’ll give it a try and see how it goes and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

So, with that in mind, I’ve been looking at a lot of architecture and interior design lately. I’m sure it’s because Spring is around the corner and it makes me want to start some projects around my own home! I know very little about architecture, but here are a few things that I enjoyed looking at:

• The Glass House by Philip Johnson
• The Farnsworth House by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
• An amazing computer generated tour of Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright
• Dwell magazine just did a redesign of their website and they expanded their slideshow section.
• A Wikipedia entry on the architecture of Kansas City.

If you missed it earlier, I did a studio tour of a Studio 804 project midway through production that you might also find interesting.

Photo courtesy of Studio 804

Most recently, the current class of 22 students have been working to design and build a modular structure that will serve as the Greensburg Art Center for the city of Greensburg, KS which was leveled by an F5 tornado on May 4, 2007.

UPDATE (9/22): The building is now completed and has been installed in Greensburg. Visit their website to see photos of the beautiful final structure!

Greensburg,KS post-tornado. Photo courtesy of FEMA.

On May 4, 2008, the students hope to complete the project to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the tornado. Their efforts have been well documented and reported (see the links listed at the end of this article), but I was excited to be able to see the “work in progress” in person and peak around their workspace which is located at the Farmland Industries site, a former nitrogen fertilizer plant built on the outskirts of Lawrence in 1954.

Arrival at the studio. The ominous entry gate is a flashback to the fertilizer days at Farmland. It’s also a safety and security measure for the property. Still, it’s a bit creepy.

The property is vast with a number of buildings, holding tanks, and pipelines running through it. The 804 studio is housed in one of the former warehouses.

A view of the outside at night.

In this photo, you can start to get a feel for the size of the studio. Easily large enough to house the entire project which is the 5th prefabricated structure (Module 5) that Studio 804 has built.

Here’s another view of Module 5 showing where the front door and south facing windows are going to go. One of the most significant (and also the most daunting) parts of this project is that they are trying to get this building LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certified, a first for the studio. Greensburg has been very ambitious in their efforts to rebuild as a environmentally sustainable city and has mandated that all city owned buildings larger than 4,000 sq. ft. are built to LEED-Platinum level. One of the most difficult parts of this process is the shear amount of record keeping and paperwork that needs to be submitted in order to meet the Platinum requirements.

Some of the “green” features of this building will include photovoltaic sun panels, wind turbines, a green roof, water saving plumbing, locally obtained building materials, and cellulose insulation, shown here, which is made up of recycled newsprint.

In addition to this, the wood used for the sides of this project is all reclaimed lumber from one of the 1,000 abandon buildings left at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition plant. There is more information on the studio site about this, but a team of students took 5 days to disassemble over 7 tons of material and reclaim 10,000 board foot of lumber! They then had to take it to the studio, plane, cut and seal it for use as a skin for the outside of the building to help modulate the sun.

This is what the skin looks like and it will be covered with an overlay of clear plastic material. Beautiful.

The building is referred to as “modular” because it is designed to be shipped in 7 segments and then reassembled once it reaches Greensburg where it will be fitted for utilities and additional details will be added.

You can see one of the clear dividing lines of one of the sections.

How will they get this out of there, you ask? Well, this photo shows the garage-style door (on the left) that they’re hoping to use, but it’s likely that they’ll need to cut a larger hole in the wall to get the sections out.

This is a view of the interior of Module 5 looking at the east wall.

This is a view looking the other direction towards the small office space. There will also be a small bathroom with a dual-flush toilet and a shower for bicycle commuters!

This is a mock up of what they are wanting to do with the shower drain. It hadn’t occurred to me, but just like designers, they have to make test runs of different materials to make sure it will look and function they way they are supposed to.

A sample that shows the plastic covering over the siding.

Here is a mock up of the guttering system. Just enough of a piece to see if it’ll work properly.

An aerial view of the mock up and cutting area. It’s a great space.

There is also a classroom setup in the back where the students can meet and talk about their progress. There’s a space heater in here since the warehouse has no heating which tells you a lot about the dedication of these students in the middle of the winter!

It’s important to note that this project is not a donation to the city of Greensburg, although the city is receiving an incredible deal. Studio 804 has accepted donations to help cover the costs as well as donated building materials. In addition, all of the labor is free, so the overall cost to Greensburg is greatly reduced. To help contribute donations to the project you can contact the studio for more information.

For more information on Studio 804′s Greensburg project visit:

• Studio 804 Website
• University of Kansas feature on Studio 804 (includes video)
• Kansas City star article
• Lawrence J-W article
• Topeka’s KSNT News (includes video)

Update (4/30): Here’s a great video on the “green” features of the Studio 804 Art Center from CBS news. It’s neat to see it in place down in Greensburg!