Studio 804 to take sustainable design to Greensburg
Modular units to aid recovery of country's first 'green city'
Studio 804 at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning has committed to design and construct a sustainable prototype for the city of Greensburg.
Twenty-two students are enrolled this semester in Studio 804, a design/build program at KU. The Studio 804 experience encompasses all aspects of the building process, from initial design to finished construction. Operating in a warehouse in Lawrence, the students will build their project in modular units that will be transported and reassembled in Greensburg. This process limits construction waste, allows students to continue to live in Lawrence and requires unique design solutions. Studio 804 is currently working with a local nonprofit organization in Greensburg that will initially use the building to service community needs.
The prototype is to be delivered on the one-year anniversary of a devastating tornado that hit Greensburg on May 4, 2007, causing more than $1.1 billion in damage. The city of Greensburg hopes to rebuild as the first "green city" in the United States.
Greensburg is the first city in the United States to pass a resolution to certify all city-owned buildings LEED Platinum, the highest level of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. LEED was developed by the United States Green Building Council to establish a standard for the design, construction and operation of sustainable buildings on a national level. Sustainability has been an integral part of Studio 804's program throughout its 12-year history, but this is the first year students will participate in the LEED process.
Early in the year, Studio 804 was contacted by Sunflower Redevelopment, who presented students with the opportunity to reclaim building materials from the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, located between Lawrence and Kansas City, Kan. Sunflower was established in 1941 as the world's largest powder and propellant plant, later playing a historic role providing munitions during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. The ammunition plant is now an excess federal property, and through Sunflower Redevelopment the property is being deployed back into the public sector. There are more than 1,000 retired ammunition buildings within the 9,000-acre site, and Studio 804 is in the process of deconstructing a magazine building to salvage building materials. The effort to reclaim structurally sound lumber, as opposed to using new lumber, is one of many ways Studio 804 promotes sustainable practices in the design/build industry.
Under the direction of Dan Rockhill, the JL Constant Distinguished Professor of Architecture at KU, Studio 804 has become internationally recognized as a leader in the design/build community, producing socially responsible, sustainable architecture.
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