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from the issue of March 2, 2006
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Students design family homes for New Orleans
Big Easy Redesign
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Helping New Orleans families rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina inspired Jason Cave.
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| | | HOUSE TALK - Jason Cave (right), a senior architecture major from Omaha, discusses his Amphibi_House design with Ted Ertl, associate professor of architecture. Cave's concept was included in Architecture 411 proposals entered in a national contest to design replacement homes for New Orleans. Photo by By Troy Fedderson, University Communications.
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A senior architecture major, Cave is one of 11 students in James Potter's Architecture 411 course who on Feb. 24 presented entries for a national competition to design the next generation of family housing for New Orleans.
Two weeks before the presentation, Cave had plotted a design with a minor twist on the traditional "shotgun" house in New Orleans. However, during a review with Potter, Cave took some advice to heart.
"During our final critique, Professor Potter reminded us that this was a competition and we needed to push the envelope," Cave said. "That's when I decided to scrap my whole plan, start over and go way out there."
While other students finalized designs that incorporated stilts, specialized window covers and reinforced construction, Cave opted for a design that can literally ride out floodwaters.
"The Amphibi_House floats," Cave said. "This is actually an idea I came up with and discarded when we started this project."
Cave designed a modular home - based on the shotgun style that includes the defining feature of a hallway running the length of the building - which rides on a material dubbed "drive on dock." Cave said this material is used as docks and supports vehicles as they move boats into and out of bodies of water.
"The house is held in place by I-beams that are anchored into the ground," Cave said. "The drive on dock provides a base for the house. And, if a flood occurs, the house rides on the I-beams as the water rises."
The design project is part of a national competition sponsored by the Architectural Record and Tulane University. Design parameters included the creation of a modular or system design that could be prefabricated or built in modules onsite. Designs also had to be based on the history of the region and the climate, being able to withstand potential hurricanes while blending with culture, tradition and history of the Big Easy.
"There was tons of information," Potter said. "Probably the hardest was to sort through it and find what was useful information.
"The project definitely pushed the students in ways that they haven't been pushed in the past, this project made them go deeper into the problem."
The designs were presented on 30-by-40 inch boards, showing floor plans, sections and elevations from a variety of perspectives. Students created two duplicate boards - one used for the public presentation, the other sealed in a package and submitted to the national competition.
"This has been a really challenging project for these students," Potter said. "It was interesting watching them develop their ideas.
"They really came up with a wide variety of ideas."
A number of architecture professionals milled among the students and professors during the informal presentation.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for these students," said Joe Saniuk, a UNL graduate who works for the Architectural Offices in Omaha. "They have been given the opportunity to assist families and develop new ideas for the future of New Orleans. This is the opportunity of a lifetime."
The breadth of the student designs surprised and excited Saniuk.
"I'm not saying any one is better than another," Saniuk said. "All the designs I've looked at had some great ideas. And, it might be a situation where you take an idea from this one and another from that one to make the next generation of homes for New Orleans."
The jury for the competition will consider all factors to determine a winner. Cash prizes and honorable mentions will be given at the national level.
And, while they wait for the end result, students will begin another hurricane-related project, designing civic structures in Jubilee City, a suburb of New Orleans. A total of 27 students - Potter's class plus another section taught by Wayne Drummond, dean of the college - will participate.
"We are going to be looking at a number of sites down there," Potter said. "And, instead of houses we are going to work on recreation facilities, churches and other civic structures.
"These will present an entirely different set of challenges for our students to learn from."
GO TO: ISSUE OF MARCH 2
NEWS HEADLINES FOR MARCH 2
Big Easy Redesign
Administration issues letter in support of Bolivian professor
Ari optimistic despite 8-month visa delay
Franco accepts VC spot
Researchers join global computer test
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Weisz helps shape court
Women's Week events observed on campus
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