For the last several weeks the Foundation Unit students have been working away on making “forgeries” of the machines of sculptor Arthur Ganson. These machines, similar in many ways to the work of Jean Tinguely and the Eames’ “do Nothing Machines” do just that: nothing. Except that they also do everything simultaneously. Ganson’s machines are magical; they are designed and constructed to produce a visceral, emotional response from the viewer. Ganson has described himself best by saying that “I put my ideas and passions into objects and …

For the past year and a half, three Rural Studio thesis students have been constructing a hybrid soccer/football field, new parking and a skatepark organized around a common public space better know as the Great Lawn. The community’s desire for a skatepark led to the application and reception of a $25,000 grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation. To stretch these generous resourses to their maximum, and integrate these typically urban elements into the rural landscape, the students proposed using landforms to soften the park and reduce …

Since 2005, in addition to the traditional charity homes and community projects that the Rural Studio has designed and built, we have been ardently working to bridge the barriers between the income-earning poor and their accessibility to existing affordable federal housing programs. The goal of the $20k House project is relatively straightforward, yet has profound implications: provide a replicable housing model that is creative, affordable, durable, energy efficient, diverse in housing type, and that can be purchased by a prospective rural homeowner for $20,000, including all costs …

Architecture is not merely “problem solving,” rather, it serves purposes; it has specific goals and agendas and is always on target. Architecture stands in opposition to….

In their most recent assignment, the students are asked to pair up into teams of two and construct a span between two of the blocks in the Dudley Hall Courtyard. The span bridges approximately 4 feet. Using only drinking straws and straight sewing pins, the span is to be beautiful and successfully hold up the weight of a single clay brick. …