DesignBuildBLUFF is a program for graduate students to realize architecture that nurtures the spirit and improves the lives of all who experience it.
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New members of our Board of Directors

As we step into the future of becoming a stand alone non-profit, we are deeply indebted to our past relationship as a supporting organization of the University of Utah.
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We are delighted to welcome the newest members of our Board of Directors:
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Robin Marrouche : Executive Director of the Kimball Art Center
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David Brems : Principal, Director of Design at GSBS Architects
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Talley Goodson : CEO 3-Form Design
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McKay Marsden.,Esq LLC : Attorney at Law
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John Plunkett : Plunkett+Kuhr
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DBB Grows with CU

Having recently expanded to include the University of Colorado (CU), DesignBuildBluff (DBB) welcomed the Buffs to Bluff for the first time in late May.
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The 22 students began their semester by selecting the family for whom they will create and construct a home. The recipients, Maxine Beguay and her 10-year old son, will choose a design from the students’ blueprints in July. After that, the students will divide construction responsibilities and gather the necessary materials. The CU students will source materials from Denver-based construction companies as well as longtime DBB benefactors such as 3-Form. Construction, which begins in August, is slated for completion by December.
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Founder Hank Louis is pleased by what DBB’s expansion means for the Navajo Nation. “The addition of the CU semester makes us a more sustainable organization, allowing us to build two homes per year and make a bigger dent in the housing crisis on the reservation.”
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Louis says the expansion of the program doesn’t change the essence of DesignBuildBLUFF. “As we continue to grow, we will focus on retaining our experimental culture. DesignBuildBLUFF is a lab for alternative building methods, where we can take risks and try new things. The most important thing is that we never feel beholden to standard operating procedures.”
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Save the Date for ‘RECIPROCITY’

Date : July 24

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A very special event to benefit DesignBuildBLUFF.

Check back soon as we share more details.

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The second fundraiser, September 2009

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Letter from New Executive Director

Awhile ago, I picked up an issue of Dwell magazine and swooned a bit over one home in particular. Surrounded by red dirt, patches of sage, a blue sky that conjured up the Utah desert, the home evoked the essence of a native culture, and something else that I couldn’t quite name. Of course it was the epiphanous Rosie Joe home, designed by students of DesignBuildBLUFF under the auspicious guidance of Hank Louis. Digging a little deeper, I learned this small, risk-taking non-profit, danced on the edge of experimentation, with the ultimate goal of “unbounded joy”.
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Who wouldn’t want to play?
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Having spent most of my professional life in the non-profit, moving between social justice issues and the arts, the culture of DesignBuildBLUFF easily married the two. I believe everyone deserves shelter and I believe housing is a human right. If we can create shelter for both the physical and the spirit-with an eye to beauty, the more likely it will reach its aim as a place of inspiration.
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To provide this opportunity for brilliant graduate students of architecture, already imbued with a sense of art and design, we are handing them the tools to create their own sense of social responsibility; to become architects of humanity.  It’s more than a program, it’s a movement.
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Since accepting the job of Executive Director, I’ve been able to travel to Bluff and witness the students wrestle with the emotionally profound process of selecting a family to design and build for, and the tangible enthusiasm of building a home. What I really experienced was a bit of the aforementioned “unbounded joy.”
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To top it off, I work with an incredibly dedicated and inspired staff…small but mighty. Linchpins all.
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I’ve said, quite seriously, that I see the future of Design Build BLUFF as “Design Build Global” intentionally creating the model for a movement..one home at  time. Look for more Universities signing on, non-traditional events, and expanded outreach, as we shore up our own foundations, and get moving.
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Join us,
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Ginger Tolman
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Upcoming Friday Night Lecture Series Presentations-2/26, 3/5

DesignBuildBLUFF, with generous support from the Utah Humanities Council, is please to announce the next presentations in the Friday Night Lecture Series.  Our presentations have been engaging, informative, and accessible–we encourage all to attend.

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Our next trip down will feature two presentations:

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Friday, February 26

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Ben Bellorado

Seeing Through Their Eyes: Understanding the Development and Spread of Rock Art Traditions in the Comb Ridge Area and Landscapes Beyond


Rock art provides one of the most direct paths for archaeologists to see what ancient peoples were actually thinking as moved within their landscapes.  This presentation will document the development of various rock art imagery styles in the Four Corners Region and discuss how rock art research can help archaeologists understand the ways prehistoric cultures interacted with their environments over time.  Recent archaeological surveys on Comb Ridge, just west of Bluff Utah, have documented several hundred rock art panels as part of the larger effort to document cultural resources in the Comb Wash, Comb Ridge, and Butler Wash areas.  Comparing this new body of rock art data to Native American oral traditions and landscape ecology studies is providing archaeologists with a variety of important insights about the prehistoric occupants of Southeastern Utah.  Preliminary results from the ongoing rock art research for the Comb Ridge Survey Project will be discussed.

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Friday, March 5

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4directions3

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Clayton Long

The Navajo Culture Based on the Four Directions


The audience will have a broad view of the Navajo life as the presenter unfolds the culture as labed the path of the Sun (East, South, West and North).


We welcome any and all to these presentations, given at the Recapture Lodge in Bluff, Utah.  Our presentations begin at 7:00 and last approximately an hour.  This program has received funding from the Utah Humanities Council.  The Utah Humanities Council promotes understanding of human traditions, values, and issues through informed public discussion.  Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition/website do not necessarily represent those of the Utah Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.


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Upcoming Friday Night Lecture Series Presentations

DesignBuildBLUFF, with generous support from the Utah Humanities Council, is pleased to present its Friday Night Lecture Series.  Our next trip down, we’ll have two presentations:

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Friday, February 5th

AE30

Joe Pachak

Ancestral Pueblo:  Cultural Forms  found in Archeoastronomy, Rock Art  and Architecture

The prehistoric archaeological record gives us the information to see how iconography shaped architectural forms.  We will explore the rock art through time from Basket Maker into Puebloan culture. Icons found in rock art display Creation Mythology of the Basket Maker People, the landscape and the sky, the light and the dark, inspires these  icons and establish a very strong tradition that is carried into the Puebloan culture.

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Friday, February 12th

caroline

Caroline Lameman

My Understanding of Where I Belong

During my talk, I would like to speak about my life off the reservation and how when I came back, it was difficult to fit back into the community I had never really belonged to. At the same time, I would like to describe the connections between clans and how I fit into the system. When I came back, I began to become interested in how a lot of people were somehow related and that I had a lot more family than I would have thought before. The clan system is really more complicated and complex than it appears to be, and can get confusing. I would like to explain it and break it down in my terms so that more people can understand how we relate to each other as kin. With my knowledge of the system, I now know where I belong with my people.

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We welcome any and all to these presentations, given at the Recapture Lodge in Bluff, Utah.  Our presentations begin at 7:00 and last approximately an hour.  This program has received funding from the Utah Humanities Council.  The Utah Humanities Council promotes understanding of human traditions, values, and issues through informed public discussion.  Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition/website do not necessarily represent those of the Utah Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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CHANGE IS GOOD

Often times when we are close to a project, or consistently exposed to something, we stop seeing its potential, its impact and its unique qualities.  With this in mind, DesignBuildBLUFF has launched fundraising efforts and media outreach outside of Utah – places where most people have never heard of Bluff, or the concept of giving a Navajo Family a home each year.
This shift in geographic reach now also includes the students. After years of being known as the University of Utah’s program, DBB is spreading its wings, and making its unique curriculum available to architecture students from universities across the globe.  Students at U of U will still be able to participate and receive credits from DBB, but so will students from institutions like University of Colorado and University of New Mexico.  In the weeks and months to come, DBB will be announcing more universities that will be participating in its program as soon as next fall.
In December, the DBB team went to Phoenix to hold the first of several fundraisers.  With endless help and insight from Julie and Tim Louis, and Carrie and Jon Hulburd, “A night for Imagination” was launched at Sanctuary at Camelback.  The first-time, on-the-road fundraising effort taught the DBB team much that they will use as they continue the concept in new cities, namely Denver, next month.
What:  A Night for Imagination – DesignBuildBLUFF
When: February 6, 2010 – 5:30pm
Where: Denver Country Club, 1700 E. 1st Avenue
Why: 100% of proceeds will go toward building a home for a Navajo family
RSVP: www.designbuildbluff.org/RSVP

Often times when we are close to a project, or consistently exposed to something, we stop seeing its potential, its impact and its unique qualities.  With this in mind, DesignBuildBLUFF has launched fundraising efforts and media outreach outside of Utah – places where most people have never heard of Bluff, or the concept of giving a Navajo Family a home each year.

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This shift in geographic reach now also includes the students. After years of being known as the University of Utah’s program, DBB is spreading its wings, and making its unique curriculum available to architecture students from universities across the globe.  Students at U of U will still be able to participate and receive credits from DBB, but so will students from institutions like University of Colorado and University of New Mexico.  In the weeks and months to come, DBB will be announcing more universities that will be participating in its program as soon as next fall.

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In December, the DBB team went to Phoenix to hold the first of several fundraisers.  With endless help and insight from Julie and Tim Louis, and Carrie and Jon Hulburd, “A night for Imagination” was launched at Sanctuary at Camelback.  The first-time, on-the-road fundraising effort taught the DBB team much that they will use as they continue the concept in new cities, namely Denver, next month.

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What: A Night for Imagination – DesignBuildBLUFF

When: February 6, 2010 – 5:30pm

Where: Denver Country Club, 1700 E. 1st Avenue

Why: 100% of proceeds will go toward building a home for a Navajo family

RSVP: www.designbuildbluff.org/RSVP

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Happy New Years to Our Benefactors

DesignBuildBLUFF extends wishes for a Happy New Year and our warmest thanks to all of our supporters from the past year.

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Your contribution is greatly appreciated by all of the DesignBuildBLUFF staff, our graduates, and our current students.  Your support allows us to continue our mission of providing a unique educational experience to tomorrow’s architects and a home for a deserving family.

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Special thanks to:

Mark and Kathie Miller Foundation

Michael W. Louis Charitable Trust

Alta Club

Elizabeth H. Solomon

Harold W. Keland

Tim Louis

Nicole E. MacClaren

Gwen Reddish

John D. & Kristi Cumming

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Please see the list of all benefactors.

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We sincerely look forward to continuing our relationship with all of our benefactors and supporters.

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Respectfully,

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DesignBuildBLUFF

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DBB continues its “A Night for Imagination” fundraising campaign in Denver

At DesignBuildBLUFF we teach the architects of tomorrow
more than just how to design a structure. We teach them
how to use their hands, hearts and heads to create a home
that is both at one with the landscape and challenges the
preconceived notions of what a building can and should be.
And we need your help.
On February 6th, you are invited to join our community
of designers and dreamers for a night of celebrating the
imagination. Here you will be able to learn more about our
mission and contribute to our future. 100% of proceeds will
go towards the construction of a new home for a deserving
family on the Navajo Reservation in Bluff, Utah.
With students from across the Four Corners, including the
University of Utah, Arizona State University, University of
Colorado and University of New Mexico plus Montana State
University, the work you support now will inspire architects
across the country for years to come.
For questions and more information, please call us at
435 649 7080 or email office@designbuildbluff.org.

SANY0009-1

At DesignBuildBLUFF we teach the architects of tomorrow more than just how to design a structure. We teach them how to use their hands, hearts and heads to create a home that is both at one with the landscape and challenges the preconceived notions of what a building can and should be. And we need your help.

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On February 6th, you are invited to join our community of designers and dreamers for a night of celebrating the imagination. Here you will be able to learn more about our mission and contribute to our future. 100% of proceeds will go towards the construction of a new home for a deserving family on the Navajo Reservation in Bluff, Utah.

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With students from across the Four Corners, including the University of Utah, Arizona State University, University of Colorado and University of New Mexico plus Montana State University, the work you support now will inspire architects across the country for years to come.

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To confirm your attendance, extend regrets, or learn more about supporting DesignBuildBLUFF go to: www.designbuildbluff.org/RSVP.

For questions and more information, please call us at 435 649 7080 or email office@designbuildbluff.org.

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One week to the campaign at Phoenix

getting ready for the big party...

getting ready for the big party...

We’re just one week away from the start of our new fundraising campaign.  We’re kicking ‘A Night of Imagination’ off in Phoenix, Arizona at Sanctuary on Camelback on December 5th.  The evening will continue with a cocktail dinner buffet at the home of Julie & Tim Louis.

Right now we’re adjusting the last details of the event and fine-tuning the evening’s presentations.  The excitement in the office (and Phoenix) is at an all-time high as we put the finishing touches on the gathering.  We’ve invited students from past years down to share their experiences as well as all of the DesignBuildBLUFF staff.  We’ll have Iliza Shlesinger from NBC’s Last Comic Standing and ‘Imagine It! 2′ to keep us on our toes as well as local figures from Phoenix.

Sanctuary on Camelback is situated on 53 breathtaking acres of lush desert and clings to the north slope of its namesake mountain overlooking Paradise Valley, Arizona.  We’re planning this fundraiser as a departure from the standard ‘Dinner and Auction’ event.  We’re sure that our guests will enjoy the new format–stay tuned to hear the details of the event!

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