The new Studio 804 project: off the grid in KCK! "If we don't take the chance, who does?"
This weekend I dropped by the newest project from the design-build sustainable architecture conspiracy at the University of Kansas known as Studio 804. Just up the road from the Rosedale Arch, this two-story structure breaks form with previous class projects in that it's larger (2,600 square feet, four bedrooms) and site-built as opposed to prefab.
It also takes sustainability to a new level. Boasting what is believed to be the first solar-panel residential setup in Wyandotte County, 3716 Springfield will be completely off the grid, generating all of its power from the wind and sun.
Dan Rockhill, the professor who leads the program — and as you'll see in the video, operates the Bobcat — said every decision was made by the 22 students, who treat this as their graduate thesis. There is no "bake-off," it's all consensus-driven, and if you mention the Sundance Channel reality series "Architecture School," as I did, you'll get a dirty look.
Rockhill told me this house would be sold to a private owner and that Studio 804 does, in fact, need the money. As it is, "It's been extremely difficult to make this work," he said. Studio 804 is independent of the university and must scrape together its budget every year. That was made an even harder task this year by the fact that it is still owed a six-figure sum by
the City of Greensburg for the 5.4.7 Arts Center, which Studio 804 built for the first anniversary of the tornado. (The rest of my Greensburg coverage is here.)
As for building green — like 5.4.7, they hope to get the coveted LEED Platinum certification for 3716 Springfield — Rockhill answered my question before I could even get it out of my piehole.
"Yes, it's expensive. But what I say to students is: If we don't do it, who does? We can take chances with issues of sustainability. You have a Board of Public Utilities that wants to drag its feet on net metering." (That's right, BPU still does not have a system for letting customers put energy back on the grid, which is one reason 3716 Springfield is completely off it.) "If we don't take the chance and apply the pressure -- who does?"
Here's your invite to Saturday's open house (PDF). It's from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
