DBB Brochure 12 v4.5

7/31/2019 DBB Brochure 12 v4.5

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his is more ThausT a clasiTs a callin


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Founders leTTer \ Hank Louis

an inTroducTionTo dBBluFFAbout 15 years ago I ound mysel visiting Samuel Sambo Mockbees

Rural Studio, in which students rom Auburn University would design

and build homes in the Black Belt o Alabama. There I saw a lot o

hard work, a willingness to abandon the comorts o campus and home

or a cooperative lie and the opportunity to learn about architecture

through action. I saw experimentation, consensus-building through

a piling on o ideas, a juxtaposition o two cultures considered

diametrically opposed, good humor, and a burgeoning awe emoting

rom all sides.

I wanted in.

With Sambos encouragement I started DesignBuildBLUFF to grow a

students comort zone, immerse them in an unamiliar culture, twist

the scales o tolerance, open their ears, and hence their minds. Indeed

thats what I want to learn, which implies that thats what I want to teach.

Here students become architects o their own education. What I hope to

impart is the veracity o the old Chinese proverb: I hear and I orget:

I see and I remember: I do and I understand.


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1600

over

StudentSrom 15 states and 4 continentshave participated.

Family memberSin houses designed and built by DesignBuildBLUFF,

totaling over 200,000 hours o hands-on experience.

ProJeCtScompleted, earning 16 dierent

awards and more to come.


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leave Your

fingerprintson the world

withoutgetting Your

hands dirtY.

While our educational

at teaching many thing

an architect isnt always

Students come out with

a head ull o theories a

clue about the practical

their chosen proession.

completing a design isn

o an assignment. Its whwork begins.

At DesignBuildBLUFF, w

architecture students the

design and build a sustain

or a deserving amily on

reservation in Blu, Utah

build what they design, pu

simple. In doing so, they l

trial and error (and error how a building truly come

For the rst time in their l

are being asked to design a

wil l impact much more tha

grades. We teach students t

architect, compassion and e

be equally important tools

or a drill. By creating a hom

in need in a desolate, near t

environment, students get t

hand how architecture can t

all who experience it.


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reason whY

experienceis considered

the bestteacher.

Its because some lessons cantbe taught rom a textbook or

written up on a chalkboard.Lessons like how to listen,how to collaborate, how toadapt, how to make mistakes,how to not make mistakes, howto make decisions and how toplanning, hard work and a littlebit o luck can come together tocreate something greater than

you could possibly imagine.

Students begin each project inthe all semester by working withthe Navajo Nation to select adeserving amily who wishes ora home incorporating innovativeand earth-conscious design. We

work hand in hand with the amilyrom start to nish, ensuringcomort, sustainability and projectsuccess.

Once the amily and thhave agreed on a nal students leave the comuniversity in the springto build the house themSeparated rom their cor the rst time in arccareer, students quicklyon the job site theres nas CTRL-Z. In translaperect computer-aideinto the imperect realhigh desert, students athink ast, sketch and iovercome the countlesand ever-changing conoccur on any job site (one thats hundreds ocivilization).

people


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reason whY

experienceis considered

the bestteacher.

Its because some lessons cant

be taught rom a textbook

or written on a chalkboard.

Lessons like how to listen,

how to collaborate, how to

adapt, how to make mistakes,

how to not make mistakes,

how to make decisions and how

planning, hard work and a littlebit o luck can come together to

create something greater than

you could possibly imagine.

Students begin each project by

working with the Navajo Nation

to select a deserving amily who

wishes or a home incorporating

innovative and earth-conscious

design. We work hand in handwith the amily rom start to nish,

ensuring comort, sustainability

and project success.

Once the amily and th

agreed on a nal design

leave the comort o th

the spring semester to b

themselves. Separated

computer or the rst t

architecture career, stu

learn that on the job sit

such thing as CTRL-Ztheir perect computer

into the imperect reali

high desert, students ar

think ast, sketch and im

overcome the countless

ever-changing condition

on any job site (particu

hundreds o miles rom


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the ears?

no, thatsjust sweat...

Theres no such thing as a che who cant cook, a writer who cant

write or a composer who doesnt know how to play a single note.Yet the vast majority o architecture students are sent out into the

workorce without ever having to mix concrete, turn a screw or

pound a nail.

DesignBuildBLUFF gives students nearly six months o rigorous,

hands-on experience in every discipline o building andconstruction.

From the oundation to nishing touches, each student will have

ample opportunity to bring his/her design to lie. By learning how

to translate an idea rom the sketchbook to the computer to reality

while combining modern technologies with traditional building

methods and salvaged materials, our graduates begin their careers

with signicantly more building experience than most students (and

even some architects).


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changes lives.

More than 2.4 million Native Americans live on or near tribal

land. They ace some o the worst housing conditions in ourcountry. Over 40% live in overcrowded or dilapidated housing.

Basic inrastructure, including water, sewer and roads, is oten

severely inadequate.

When we nish a house, were not just giving a single amily a

nice place to live. We are sending a simple yet bold message to

the entire world: Things do not have to be this way. By exploring

alternative building methods, ocusing on sustainability and

using elements naturally at hand, were opening up a world

o possibilities and inviting all who experience the home towonder what else is possible.

Many architects talk about inspiring design. Our homes have

inspired recipients to start businesses, pursue art, care or the

elderly, escape abuse, bring ar-fung amilies back together,

study or college, and learn to build homes or others on

the Rez.


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FOUNDER + CHAIRMAN

Soon ater earning a Master o

Architecture rom the University

o Utah in 1987, Hank began to

eel disillusioned by the disconnect

between the architect and the

building process. Seeking a better

way, he became aware o Samuel

Mockbees Rural Studio at Auburn

University, where students were

designing and building homesor people in one o the poorest

parts o the South. Inspired

by this example o what

architecture can be. In 2000,

Hank ounded what would

become DesignBuildBLUFF.

As our philosophical leader,

he leads our dedicated sta in

tirelessly working with students,

amilies, the Navajo Nationand donors to ensure all get the

most out o their experience

with the program.

louis


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plACeS


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Blu is a small town located in the southeastern Utah portion o the Four Corners region.

Located along U.S. Highway 191, Blu is bordered on the south by the San Juan River and the

Navajo Nation, armland to the east and vast panoramic landscapes to the west. To the north,

300-oot sandstone blus loom over the community. An isolated oasis in an otherwise desolate

landscape, Blu serves as a crossroads rom which to explore the regions national parks,

canyons, prehistoric sites, and trails. o bluff


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Housing Units LackingTelephone Service

Housing Units LackinComplete Plumbing F

%


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%Housing Units LackingComplete Kitchen Facilities

-world

countrYin our own

backYard.an overview oFnavaJo nationliving ConditionS.


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experience.

unlike anYthingYouve ever

experienced.BluFF, uT


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A historic arm house. Three Airstreams. A converted


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A historic arm house. Three Airstreams. A convertedschool bus and a couple o old shipping containers. To callthe DesignBuildBLUFF campus eclectic is something o an

understatement. Just as many o our projects rely on whateverwe can nd, scavenge and scrounge, the DesignBuildBLUFFcampus has slowly been built rom whatever materials are at ha

On the job site, the students act as a team. When the day is donthey become a amily. Each night we gather around to eat a meprepared by a dierent pair o students. We play a lot o gamesparticularly Texas Hold Em and horseshoes, with beer pong an

quarters on the weekend. When the weather is nice enough wecook over an adobe grill and eat around the campre. Somestudents bring guitars, keyboards and all sorts o drums to jam

while others preer to spend the evening watching movies or

building things in the workshop. The slower pace o the campis a welcome respite rom both the urgency o the building siteand this increasingly rentic world we live in.

To the outsider, both the campus and its inhabitants look likea study in organized chaos. We preer the term organic. Everystudent puts his/her own mark on the place. It is quite literallwhat you make o it. Perhaps one day well get around to crea

a master plan or the property and impose some structure,but or now theres always one more house to build on the Rez

kind of

caMpus.


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projeCtS


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2 Bedrooms1 BaThcar PorT

2010 / 22 sTudenTs


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2010 / 22 sTudenTsFor single mother Maxine Begay and her so

preserving their Navajo heritage within the

o their home was their top priority. Our stu

responded with a design inspired by the spac

plans o the traditional hogan, opening the

amily connections. The ocal point o the ho

windcatcher central hearth, serves as both

place and as the primary cooling and heating

the home by employing passive evaporative co

upper opening o tower and a wood stove at th

the entrance and the private spaces ace the ea

sacred direction in the Navajo culture, to give

her son a place to greet the beginning o each n

caTche

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awards2011 aia C y achc a built

2011 aia C y achc a PeoPl

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2011 rs Chc a - tH bs g

2004 // 8 sTudenTs


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2004 // 8 sTudenTsRosie Joe simply wanted a place to cook or her amily.

DesignBuildBLUFFs inaugural eight students gave her a home

ull o active and passive technologies, allowing the house to operate

entirely o-grid. Rammed earth walls gather heat through a wall o

donated windows; an oversized butterfy roo captures water or later

use, provides shade, and shelters a lower roo made o scavenged

pallets. Inside, utilities are powered by photovoltaics, propane, and

a 12-volt pumpRosies sole request has been answered by eight

students, materials on hand, and the resources provided by nature.

awards2005 uh a s Cc dsas a

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2005 aia ws m r m a

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q .3 Bedrooms1 BaThuTiliTY room


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2009 // 19 sTudeTns


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2009 // 19 sTudeTnsSuzie Whitehorses amily had been living with no

running water, no car, and 200 eet o extension cord

supplying their power. Nineteen students strong, we

set out to create a haven or the Whitehorse amily.

The plan was to lit the house o o the ground with

giant stilts, saving time and money over a typical

oundation. Salvaged telephone poles and steel pipe t

our requirements perectly. As the house came togetherserendipity, resourceulness,and our largest class yet

brought Suzie and her our boys an amazing home just

eet rom their deteriorating hogan.

highlighTsw Cch r

S tph P F

S Shpp P rs a ex

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awards2011 uh as Cc dsas a

2011 aia excc Ss ds C a

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carolin aKai011200


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Benall200

Each year we give architecture students the chance to design and

build a home on the Navajo reservation. Our students give their hearts


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build a home on the Navajo reservation. Our students give their hearts

to create a sustainable home or a deserving amily. The amilies give

their trust that the experimental and alternative building methods

we employ wil l result in a home that will improve their lives. And the

experience gives us inspired, socially responsible architects or the

betterment o the global community.

a calling.

how willYou answer?

This brochure was made possible in part thanks to

the Sappi Ideas That Matter grant.


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pp g

answerThe

call@ bbff.


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PO bOx 3779

Park city, ut

84060

t 435 649 7080F 435 649 6545

www.designbu ildbluff.org

Documents

DBB Brochure 12 v4.5