Following the protocols of social distancing, the Net Positive Studio too has transitioned into online learning. As our focus shifted from building prefab to intensive research for our book, we realized this phenomenon was a perfect time to reflect on the purpose of our future careers. After an extended two-week spring break, the Net positive studio got together to talk about their outlook on ‘Resilience in Architecture’.  

The objective of this research and writing assignment was to introduce the concept of resiliency and understand its relationship to current events relative to COVID-19 and the underlying themes of the studio, like affordable and sustainable housing. Prof. Gibson explained the idea of resilience as the ability of a system to adapt, respond, and recover from a stress or disturbance. In concept, it shares a great deal of perspective with sustainability, which is one of the major aspects of Net Positive studio.  This assignment was also intended to reevaluate the studio’s design intent for the St. John house in terms of its Resilience. 

For this assignment, each individual had to use a strong image to support their essay and dive into a variety of subjects to understand resilience. The topics ranged from physical, economical, and psychological aspects to importance of essential services, support of daily life, environmental sensitivity, opportunity etc. As each person explained their outlook on resilience with respect to a specific need in infrastructure and housing, we saw many strong ideas in design and construction. These provoked the thought of our impact through sustainability, affordability and resilience in housing design as well as recognizing the utmost importance in the physical and psychological impact of house design in our modern world. 

As a studio, the outcome of this assignment was that we re-examined our design, considering this as an opportunity to reflect and be prepared for the future challenges in housing design. 

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. No matter how carefully a project is planned, complications may arise. Unfortunately, just when prefabrication was ramping up in the shop, we learned that all campus activities would be shut down in accordance with Kansas State University’s response to the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and the Net Positive Studio has transitioned to online learning for the remainder of the semester

We had hoped to share with you our progress on the construction of our house in St. John. However, even though our construction efforts have been halted, that has not stopped the studio from making the most of this unprecedented situation. Instead of focusing on construction, we have been afforded the opportunity to focus our attentions on other critical tasks. We have completed our construction documents and had a weeks worth of prefabrication under our belts before the break, but our studio is still in the process of designing much of its casework, an important element of the house. With this gifted amount of time to work remotely, we have formed a new team that has been dedicating their time to thoroughly designing the creative elements for our kitchen, closets, and other storage areas. 

Besides these efforts, we have also shifted our focus to the completion of a book that will document the studio’s activities throughout the year. During this time of crisis, we have been able to reflect on how our efforts to provide rural communities with affordable, energy efficient housing, may become even more important in the aftermath of COVID-19. We have also been able to reflect on how this crisis has affected us as designers and citizens, and how our response can affect the environment around us in the near future. These reflections, along with the work done to create our net-zero home,  will be included in our book near the end of the school year. We can’t wait to share the Net Positive Studio’s hard work with all of you. 

One final word on the St. John house: we have not given up on completing our project. While we can’t predict what lies ahead of us, we can always persevere. Through this crisis, we have more knowledge on the needs of families across our country and how we can aid them with design. We are confident that, with some hard work, we will be able to share this project as a built work in the near future.

The 28^th of February saw the first of our material shipments arrive (the largest part of our lumber order), marking our studio’s shift from the classroom to the workshop. While we didn’t have all the materials needed to start panel fabrication, we had some prep work that needed to take place before fabrication. Materials needed to be organized, framing platforms needed to be built, the fabrication set needed to be finished, and the different task spaces needed to be established. Finally, the 2^nd of March brought us our RAYCORE shipment. With our materials in hand, construction could begin! 

There are 2 main stages of construction in panel fabrication: the framing of the panel (the assembly of studs and RAYCORE) and the sheathing of the panel (the application of OSB sheets, rigid insulation, and ZIP board). We decided that the best way for the studio to construct the panels was to complete the framing on all the panels first and then install the sheathing. Each individual panel has its own fabrication document that includes instructions on exactly how it needs to be framed, sealed, nailed, fastened to the framing elements, and how installed on the sheathing elements.

We started actual construction on the panels on March 3^rd and by March 6^th, the last day of classes before spring break, we had completely framed 12 of the 20 exterior wall panels (these 12 panels make up the north and south walls). We were averaging 3 panels a day. At this rate, we can easily finish framing exterior wall panels in just a few days, after returning from spring break, so we can move on to sheathing installation.

The decision of the studio was to build custom casework for our design project.  Since we are designing a residence with a very small footprint, we were faced with providing storage in a home in which it is essential to utilize the square footage efficiently.  We strived to provide a place for people to not only store their belongings but also to have places to display things while keeping the casework itself very minimalistic.  We worked to provide bookshelves, closets, and built-ins to alleviate the need and desire for homeowners to fill up their living space with unwieldy furniture.  We focused on many things from functionality to aesthetics to ease of assembly while accomplishing this goal.

As the entryway provides the first impression of the house, it was imperative to present a clean, uniform, and minimalistic design.  Being in rural Kansas, we wanted to provide an entryway hall that doubled as a type of mudroom.  The storage requirement for coats and shoes close to the front door was incorporated into a bench area that provides ample flexibility.

To continue with a clean and uniform design and to be adaptable to changing technology space requirements, the entertainment casework in the living area was designed with maximum flexibility in mind.  This was accomplished by providing an area that can easily be reconfigured to meet the users entertainment desires and equipment while maintaining the uniform design flow of the house.

When designing the kitchen we were faced with the challenge of how to make a functional kitchen in a very small space, while meeting the needs of the user.  Multiple iterations during the design project explored various options in an attempt to provide sufficient continuous usable counterspace.  As the appliance arrangements must provide a workable flow, we quickly came to the realization that counterspace and utility were difficult to achieve.  This led to placing the appliances and sink in the best location and then adjusting the cabinetry around it to provide a smooth and continuous appearance. To take advantage of the natural light, the cabinets and counters close to the window and sliding doors are at a lesser depth to allow maximum light to illuminate the area.  To finish the clean design, the additional depth of the refrigerator was utilized by creating cabinets that provide additional pantry storage without taking away from the overall kitchen space. 

To compensate for the lack of continuous counterspace and workable surface area, the remaining open area in the kitchen needed to provide both counterspace and storage.  We felt the solution to this was an island.  As the space in a small kitchen is often dynamic and needs to be adaptable for different occasions, a fixed island would have been limiting.  By having a movable, multifunctional kitchen island the homeowner can position it according to the situation and get the most out of the space.

With the goal of uniformity throughout the casework of the home, we wanted to provide for storage and enhanced entertaining in the dining room while eliminating the need for space consuming furniture.  This was accomplished by designing a wall storage piece with an accompanying bar area that could be used for any entertainment situation.

Once again, to provide a clean and uniform design throughout the habitat the bedroom casework is along the lines of Scandinavian wall furniture.  This eliminates the need for the user to find and place appropriately sized furniture within the limited square footage.  By having specifically designed casework for each room the space is efficiently utilized while exceeding the storage capability of a traditional closet. 

Placing the casework strategically allows for the ambient or natural light to be unobstructed throughout the rooms while at the same time reducing sound transmission between rooms.  The design, though minimalistic, resulted in an efficient potentially cost-saving design for the future user.

Construction of Casework

Throughout the fabrication we will be using standard cabinetry construction practices.  Unique to this project is the selection of ½ inch furniture grade plywood when able and the elimination of traditional facia boards.  To ensure a clean design, the doors of the casework will be designed to give a flush front appearance with minimal gaps utilizing European style hinges.  Certain sections will be joined using dado and pocket screws for additional rigidity and strength.  With this construction practice, we are able to customize while at the same time reducing the costs and providing a truly eye pleasing product that will enhance the living environment.

The proposed casework efficiently utilized the limited square footage of our design.  We provided a place for storage and display while keeping the casework very minimalistic.  By building closets, bookshelves, and built-ins we alleviated the need for the homeowner to fill up their living area with space consuming furniture.  We were able to incorporate stunning aesthetics, reasonable cost, and ease of assembly all while maintaining a high standard of quality.