KU Studio 804 architecture class finishes home; public open house Saturday

LAWRENCE -- The public is invited to tour on Saturday the latest creation of Studio 804, the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Design's award-winning program in which students design and build an affordable home using salvaged or discount materials.

The newest home, a 1,300-square-foot, three-bedroom house located at 1718 Atherton Court, just east of 17th and Harper streets in Lawrence, will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The open house is sponsored by Studio 804 and Tenants to Homeowners Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families make the transition from renting to owning a home.

Twenty students spent the spring semester designing and then building the home by hand. KU architecture professor Dan Rockhill established the program and teaches the course.

During the fall semester, the students interviewed tenants of homes built by previous classes, gathered zoning permits and researched building materials. The students spent the first two weeks of the spring semester designing the home, then constructed the dwelling over the next 14 weeks.

The home was built using materials salvaged from demolished buildings or purchased at discounted prices from companies such as Reynolds Aluminum, GE Plastics and EX-L Tube in Kansas City, Mo. Local businesses also offered discounts and donated funds and supplies, which helped keep the cost of the construction at around $80,000. Rockhill said a comparable home in Lawrence would cost about $160,000.

Using recycled materials and incorporating energy conservation features are integral to designing the home. Past homes have recycled flooring from an old VFW hall and from basketball courts. In this house, the class used water-saving fixtures and oriented the building on its lot to maximize energy efficiency.

This is the seventh year the class has completed a full-scale project and the fifth year they built a house. Two of the houses were built for Tenants to Homeowners. Other projects have included restoring the roof on the Barber School at Clinton Lake and constructing a canopy behind Marvin Hall, the home of the architecture school.

Students, graduate and undergraduate, are enrolled in the class, and all are majoring in architecture. KU's bachelor of architecture degree is a five-year professional degree program.