Here is the video how does Janet feel about the students’ presentation and how does she choose one architecture.

Mallory, Tami & Jeff presented their proposal

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Sarah & Nathalia presented their proposal

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Jonathan, Erin & Trent presented their proposal

Near Comb Ridge

Before Janet and her family came over for dinner, a small group of us were able to make it out to nearby Comb Ridge and take a short break by the San Juan River.  This excited us for the possibility of many more hikes during next semester.

Mallory, Tami & Jeff showcase their design

Mallory, Tami & Jeff (not pictured) were chosen to present first and Janet was very impressed with their design.  She particularly liked the use of strawbale construction, and the roof line which matches the contour of the site.  Janet also hopes to incorporate panels that not only showcase her mothers hand woven rugs but also act as ways to enclose space.

Sarah & Nathalia present thier house design

Sarah & Nathalia presented second with a design that pushed the limits of what Janet had ever seen architecturally.  Janet fell in love with the shading system proposed for the outside of the building and the extensive amount of interior shelving.

Jonathan, Erin & Trent (T3) present thier model

Jonathan, Erin & Trent (not pictured) sat down with Janet last.  Janet appreciated the breeze way and north shade house, and they liked the division of the studio space from the main living area.  She and her family also enjoyed the idea of the loft space, which gives more room for visiting family members.

The Final Debate

Janet and family expressed several times that they wanted to just combine all the projects into one.  Even after a long family discussion, Janet still had strong feelings for all the projects and was very appreciative of the hard work and development that went into each design.  The DBB staff commented that we (the students) should be proud of the professional quality with which the models and presentations were put together.

Selected Project

Janet and her family selected T3′s design for further development.  They requested that ideas and features of the other two designs be integrated into the final house.  The family joked about picking a project out of a hat due to their excitement of  the three possibilities.

Birds eye view showing interior layout

View Towards Kitchen

View of Breeze Way

We’re excited to be mostly through the schematic design phase and ready to talk about the details and feasibility.  We are also glad we have another month to begin working out the logistics of construction and to further research buildings methods and materials.  Construction begins in January.  We have a lot to do.

Through a process of group voting the 10 designs have been narrowed down to 3.  The voting was close.  There were several rounds of votes to break the few ties we had between projects.   Around 8 people will accompany 1/4″ scale models and drawings to present to the Yanito’s on Saturday night.

Mallory/Jeff/Tammy

Sarah/Natalia

Jonathan/Erin/Trent

This past weekend the DBB crew returned to Bluff to take inventory, gather clay, and visit Whitehorse again. We also visited Janet’s homestead site once again to get a better feel for where the designs might be on the site and reconnect with the client who will ultimately live here… and call it home. This is an interesting consideration for us particularly, as we will be primarily living down in Bluff for a majority of the spring semester that is quickly approaching. Will Bluff become our home while we are building a home for someone else? Does that act help create a ‘home’ atmosphere when you are in the act of giving to someone else? Or is it merely our desert dwelling hostel, a temporary escape from the wiles of our academic and social worlds?

Saturday morning we split into four groups – 1gathering clay, 2Janet current inventory and further questioning, 3Scorub property inventory, 4Whitehorse watertank filling. The groups scurried into action, and were finished with their particular tasks by lunch and oddly enough ended up at Janet’s current residence without prior organization. It was refreshing to see her again, in good spirits and excited about her home-to-be. She also met us at the new site, and had already moved her trailer and had marked off boundaries of the site. It was especially rewarding to see a ‘client’ so willing to start on her own with a can-do attitude. At the site she asked us to walk the boundaries with her, showing us specifically views, concerns and vegetation that were important to her.

From her site we proceeded to venture in search of more white clay known to be located in a region near Comb Ridge. We decided to all go out to this beautiful landscape (which constantly still takes my breath away). ‘Hanging out’ and exploring the clay deposits amidst a backdrop of red sandstone blanketed in the sun’s radiance proved to be a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Gathering white clay in a red desert

The group had to part ways at dusk on Saturday, an eventful day winding down to the early winter sunset. The majority of the group headed back to Salt Lake City where a long dark drive would open up to a city of light, busy with affairs of a city that is growing and changing. As night enveloped the remaining few, a warm bonfire and supper of macaroni was shared by all with the beautiful stillness and quiet of another desert night. Discussion of design and life lingered into the night, although they were swept away with the smoke of the fire as design turned into laughter and life turned into wistful looks into the night sky illuminated by a million stars. The night was beautiful, and the rest welcome. Eric welcomed us the next morning with a feast for kings, and communal dining around the kitchen took place with Vida and his mom joining in the fun.

We returned back to our world, equipped with a better understanding of the woman and her family we would soon be building for as well as an inventory of possibilities and ideas for creative use of interesting materials. While my body returned to studio and research and Salt Lake, parts of my heart stayed in Bluff, anxiously awaiting the time when we would become a family of students, joined in the singular purpose of housing for another family, which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest and most primal acts of architecture: shelter. The calling of Design Build Bluff and its cause, the landscape it is set in, and the people it helps daily had left a mark on me, and we will soon be leaving our mark on it.

The mark of a craftswoman.

Our project makes use of natural building materials as well as passive cooling strategy resulting in a simple, efficient design.  In plan, the house is composed of two bars – one for public, one for private spaces, slid apart creating controlled outdoor spaces at each end of the building.   The interior space is left open allowing for flexibility and connectivity of spaces.  We’re excited to build with both rammed earth as well as straw bale construction, incorporating the most “free” materials available.

T3's design: nicknamed Ubergange

T3, the group of Trent, Jonathan, & Erin, pinned up today for the DBB class. We discussed our plans for Janet’s home, going beyond concept models and beginning to talk about materials and systems. Our program is divided into heated living space and Janet’s studio/kiln/storage space, creating a breeze way covered by our extended roof rafters. the rafter pattern also continues off the north side of the home for a summer shade room, which is a common program element in Navajo culture. The 2 simple boxes are based on the constructibility we feel is necessary for the completion of the project in the tight time schedule.

Today our entire group engaged in presenting and reviewing progress to this point.  The group has differing designs, but some similarities between projects such as siting the building in the brow of a hill.  It’s interesting to see the variety of solutions that people are coming up with.  Janet will have some solid options to choose from in a few weeks.

Lindsay and Blake are proposing a composite building system integrating strawbale construction and rammed earth.  They are also looking into innovated uses for stairs as circulation, storage and room division.

This group is experimenting with natural materials found on or near the site, such as clay.  In addition to firing clay for cladding  walls, they are also working out details for a habitable roof.