Fall 2016 Semester in Sustainable Design/Build

As the last day dawned on the 2016 Design Build Semester program, we prepared to show to the world the culmination of our efforts  It has been a long time since we were eight strangers canoeing around Kettle Pond and annoying Jacob with word games, but in that time we have grown together not only as a team but as individuals.  During our open house we were able to walk friends and family through four months of work on paper, screen, and site with individual showcases and a house tour.  We may not have finished the project, but we can take comfort that every decision we made was backed by thorough research and a commitment to both the client and the planet.  Looking back on all that was accomplish, each and every one of us can say that this has been one of the best experiences of our lives and that the relationships we built here will be ones that last a lifetime.  A big thank you goes out to Eric, Jacob, Jesse, and Lizabeth for being skilled and patient instructors as well as the whole Yester-crew in the kitchen and office keeping the whole show running.  This is Team Y signing off for this semester, can’t wait to see what happens next.

#TheBumpHouse

In other news, last week we celebrated our semester’s worth of collaborative drawings with an art gallery at the “Butternut Modern” (Kelly & Mary’s dorm room). The event was complete with cheese and crackers, and enjoyed a healthy showing of the greater Yester community. 

Maya Mary + Pat team working away on the fly rafters while Nick + Kelly team string the roof to check for any discrepancies, Arel + Charley + Lilly team were putting up dormer rafters. Successful day all around.

House Coming along in the snow.

Foggy day at the job site, but that didnt stop us! heres our fearless showing us he also knows how to swing a hammer!!!

Throw Back Monday! Project from earlier this month, we all had a different architectural detail to study. hashtag columns!

We started off the day in the studio, reviewing the outcome of a design project of which we were tasked with mimicking the style of a builder, designer, or architect of our choice. We then headed out for a cold snowy day on the site, which concluded with successfully getting the ridge beam in place.

As we wind down the week before Thanksgiving break, things are shifting into ridge beam/roof prep.  While Pat cuts the post for the loft, rafters are being laid out and cut and posts are being screwed into the gable ends ( the scaffolding didn’t quite reach so we had to get creative, don’t tell OSHA).  The next two days are going to be filled with a ridge beam install and more rafter cutting as we work towards getting the building dried in!

With just a few weeks left in the semester, we are starting to accept the fact that this building won’t be brought to completion by the time we leave. Because of this, we have started to discuss what we should pack into the next few weeks in order to gain the most out of this experience. This will likely take the shape of partially doing as many steps as we can (i.e. drywall, flooring, siding, electrical, stairs, etc...), so that we can learn as much as possible. One lucky wall will get all of our attention while the others wait in limbo to be completed after December 9th. 

With just 24 days to go, we have upped the anti and are cooking along at the job site. Over the past few days we have divided into teams of two to tackle different tasks, including: padding the entrance way ceiling for added insulation, straightening the walls, taping zip seams, building the loft knee wall, and assembling the interior walls to name a few. We are looking forward to building the main sleeping loft and raising the support beam over the next few days. 

Finishing up with exterior sheathing, the house is coming together!!!

We poured a footing for the exterior bump in post. Lots of hand digging, thanks chuck!!