Architecture Students Break New Ground In Modular House Design

President Hal Roberts and Clay Garner (center) and Jim Adams (far left) lead Professor Gregory Herman (center, with glasses) and students through a tour of Taylor Made Homes factory in Anderson, Mo.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Taylor Built Homes president Hal Roberts challenged University of Arkansas architecture students to push the envelope in modular housing design, and they literally burst out of the box. A graceful, butterfly-roofed house that radically departs from the boxy structures typical in the industry emerged as the winner last week, when students presented their work to a jury that included architects, a banker, a realtor, representatives from the City of Fayetteville, and Roberts.

"I really am excited that you did something like this," Roberts told the students. "I don't want to build cookie cutter houses that all look alike - thanks for taking a chance here."

The students' design features a sculptural butterfly roof and lofty interior spaces.

This summer architecture professor Gregory Herman and his students will partner with Roberts' modular housing company, Taylor Built Homes, to design and construct a 1,000-square-foot, $60,000 home in southeast Fayetteville for a family of modest means. The house, the fourth in Fayetteville designed and constructed by School of Architecture students, will be assembled from two 15' x 66' modules built in Taylor Built Homes' Anderson, Mo. factory and delivered on flatbed trucks to the Fayetteville site in mid-July. The students' work with modulars has exciting implications, potentially raising the bar in the design of affordable housing.

"There are several design/build programs at architecture schools around the United States," Herman said, "but very few are exploring the potential of modular housing. This summer we have a unique opportunity to advance the design of low-cost housing, and we are working with Taylor Built Homes and the city toward a common goal - a safe, beautiful, innovative, energy efficient, affordable house."

These details convey the sculptural quality of the students' proposed design.

The students plan to achieve this goal in just 12 weeks, almost unheard of in home construction. They began sketching ideas in the first week of class, eventually winnowing the field from 13 designs to three. Teams of students took turns working with each design in order to enhance the collaborative nature of the project. The design process was shaped by a field trip to Taylor Made Homes (parent company to Taylor Built Homes) in Anderson, Missouri.

"This is touchy feely time," Roberts noted as the students poked, prodded, and sketched their way through the cavernous, 43,000-square-foot metal shed where the homes are constructed. "There are no limits on finish stuff," he added, as they examined doors, windows, and flooring options. "Go nuts!"

One week later, it was time to judge the students' work, and all members of the jury brought a different perspective to the process. Yolanda Fields, Director of the City of Fayetteville's Community Resources and Code Compliance program, focused on the life cycle cost of the designs, noting that high maintenance finishes such as paint ultimately become a burden for the homeowner. Arvest Bank Vice President and Marketing Director David Bugea discussed the strict design and habitability standards required by the Federal Housing Authority, which typically provides loans for homes in this price range, while Ward 1 Alderman Brenda Thiel and Coldwell Banker Faucette realtor Mike Henry questioned the marketability of an unconventional design.

"I have no qualms about the marketability of the house," Herman said. "The two houses we built on Mashburn are unconventional, and the buyers love them. We try to balance our desire as designers to look for something new with what people want and need."

Although he loved the sculptural butterfly roof, Roberts questioned whether it could be done as a modular housing project. Students will spend this week working with Taylor Built Homes' structural engineers to explore the outer limits of modular home construction.

Stay tuned.

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