Certificate in Residential Design & Construction
Spring 2021 Moretown, VT
PROGRESS WEEK 1 PROGRESS WEEK 2
INSTRUCTORS: Andy White, Anastasia Laurenzi, Najat Croll TA: Euj Osoria
STUDENTS: Michael Salcedo, Henry Fournier, Madeline Colety, Annie Nash, David Lewis, Andres Werkhoven, Laura Harbin-Waters, Reginald Germain, Tara Murray, Anthony Leo, James Riley, Kim Couri, Jeffrey Kuhn, Mark Nielsen, Michael Conti, Grant Turley
Certificate in Residential Design & Construction
The CRDC course begins with a 5-week online design class, where students work on designs for their own future projects. They learn about siting a building and relevant structural needs energy efficiency, light, and materials while discussing environmental concerns through drawing, and modeling. The students then attend a 3-week in-person construction course where they build a small house that has previously been designed by their instructors for a client. During this portion of the course, they also learn how to wire/install electrical and plumbing.
Nestled between two large trees, and influenced by mountain view, this accessory building is sited off-axis from and in-service to, the main house.
It was designed to be versatile as the needs for its use may vary. A single linear space is broken into rooms by an interior, central “utility box” that houses the bathroom and kitchenette. This helps create some privacy on either side for sleeping, working, living.
Understanding that there was not enough time for the students to complete the construction of a house in the class time allowed, we designed it to be constructed in two phases: Phase 1: the student build; Phase 2: completion after the course. Phase 1 was to create a 3-season structure that would be usable until the clients move on to Phase 2, installing windows and interior finishes.
Five-foot-deep, prefabricated concrete piers hold 6x6 posts that support 6x12 girders. The 2x12 rough-sawn Pine floor deck supports the Pine, T&G flooring, 2x10 rough-sawn Pine walls, and 1x6 Pine shiplap siding. T111 sits above the 2x10 rough-sawn rafters, where a corrugated metal roof will sit on purlins.
Spring 2021
INSTRUCTORS: Anastasia Laurenzi, Adam Benoit TA: Erik Bullock
STUDENTS: Aidan Connolly, Anthony Hamilton, Anthony Muhammad, Ben Lloyd, Calvin Borgmann, Frances Mayo, JonTurner, Kim Dvorak, Takia Gaylord, George Kelly, Najat Croll
The Tiny House Certificate course begins with a 5-week online design class, where students work on designs for their own future projects. They learn how to design for housing that utilizes trailers to travel, structural integration, energy efficiency, light and materials while discussing environmental concerns through drawing, and modeling. The students then attend a 3-week in-person construction course where they build a tiny house on a trailer that has previously been designed by their instructors for a client. During this portion of the course, they also learn how to wire/install electrical and plumbing.
This tiny house was designed for an artist and her needs for a first home. The constraints that exist for tiny houses, in general, create limitations on width and height for travel down the road. Using these parameters, we created three levels inside to help break up the linear monotony. The front door is recessed to allow for coverage when pausing, upon entering, or leaving.
Upon entering, the door opens into a small storage foyer. All closets and shelving sit here with the ladder leading up to the sleeping loft. The ceiling is full height in this portion of the house to allow for sitting up high in the loft. The bathroom, to the right, sits below the loft with an incinerating toilet, shower, and repurposed sink.
To the left of the entry are the kitchen and elevated living area. The ceiling slowly lowers while walking toward the end of the house. This helps create a feeling of different spaces within the linear open plan. The floor at the end of the house is raised to allow for storage underneath and is accessed by pulling the steps away to reveal a crawl space.
The 2x4 framing is bolted to the steel trailer. The 1x6 Pine shiplap siding is installed horizontal/y and vertically around the house. We found that this gives some personality to the exterior while denoting changes within the interior. The windows and door will be painted black to match the rubber membrane roof.
All Photographs & Drawings by Anastasia Laurenzi