Rural Studio - Auburn University

09/03/2026

The Deborah’s Home team highlights Rural Studio’s storied design process: iteratively work through a design, mocking up, testing, critiquing, and reevaluating. Students learn how the process of building influences the design, from design to phasing. No short cuts.

In the last month or so, the team has been conferring with experts to finalize the cross-laminated timber (CLT) design for Deborah’s Home. The design will have to accommodate for both the manufacturer’s CLT panel dimensions and for structural issues associated with the material. (Large panels of CLT are more efficient and cheaper with no cuts.) Recently, our great consultant Dan Wheeler helped the team break through a tough spot. They had planned a gabled roof but have since shifted the typology: the shed roof they are now designing is more conducive to the structural forces at play and works with the CLT panel dimensions. Engineering advisor Joe Burns is helping them address any outstanding structural issues, a critical step. The team’s resolve in working though the problem over time is impressive.

The team spent much of the summer working on the CLT Pod during the day and making progress on the home design in the evenings. (The Pod is a mini-me of the future house, Deborah’s Home, using the same material.) The team is only a few days away from finishing the Pod, and they will break ground on site of the home within the next couple weeks.

We’re about to hear the beautiful hum of construction, music to this hardworking team’s ears.

09/02/2026

Working on a historically significant project has profound consequences. As the First Congregational Church Hall project progresses, the team has kept that fact in mind and has been taking great care and being respectful with design decisions. In the end, we hope the project will touch the community of Marion and build upon the legacy of the church.

Over the summer, the team applied a huge effort in making progress on the Glulam Pod. (In this case, Glulam refers to timber glued together to make a beam.) They’ve been using the Glulam Pod as a materials and details mock-up of the Church Hall. The mock-up is allowing them to see how assumptions in their design play out in construction. Their maturity, patience, and drive to push forward will pay great dividends on the final project, making the Church Hall much better.

In the studio now on the Church Hall project, the interior spaces and foundation designs are well set. The students are studying details of exterior insulation and siding. The team is pushing the design of materiality for the exterior, and they are also focusing on courtyard and foundation details. Now that the Marion site has been cleared of all trees that would interfere with the building, they plan to break ground within the coming weeks. We’ve reached the anticipated juncture where design meets construction. We’ll keep you posted on their progress.

09/01/2026

Meet Shane "the Crane Man." He’s been working with Rural Studio since 1997, and our go-to contractor for—you’ll never guess it—moving large objects! And fabrication. Shane filled us in on what he loves most about his job and what he thinks about working on Rural Studio projects. But he also shared fun facts about his life and living in Hale County. What tickled our fancy the most is that he has a dog named Dog! Learn more about Shane here.

Shane Jackson, better known to us as Shane the Crane Man, is a local contractor who helps move large objects with his crane for Rural Studio. He has assisted student teams on countless projects, including the Greenhouse, Lions Park, the Butterfly House, and most recently, the Bathhouse. Shan...

08/25/2026

The 2026-2027 Rural Studio Lectures & Workshops Series began last week with expert Mary Margaret Jones from NYC! Mary Margaret is not only Senior Principal Landscape Architect but also President and CEO of Hargreaves Jones, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, and Cambridge.

Her work has been recognized internationally, including by the prestigious Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and the Rosa Barba International Landscape Prize. Notable projects include the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, UK, Scissortail Park in Oklahoma City, OK, and Belo Garden in Dallas, TX.

Mary Margaret worked intensively with our 5th-year students, learning about their two new projects—one on Morrisette Campus and the other in nearby Greensboro—and sharing insights that will guide the students as they move forward.

08/21/2026

pics! This week, we kicked off our 33rd year in Hale County! We have 7 student projects and tons of faculty-led research going. Follow along with us this year to learn more! War Eagle, y’all! 🦅

Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction

08/20/2026

Homestead Day?! That’s right. Learn about food, water, land, and home on September 12, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Join us in Newbern, AL, on for this free event with activities for children, a wealth of information for adults, and food trucks on-site for purchasing lunch.

Are you a small land owner? Do you want to boost your practical skills and ideas? Auburn University Rural Studio and the Aquatic Resources Team of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) are hosting a day of demonstrations, conversations, and activities.

Experts are eager to meet you and answer your questions; learn from experts in gardening & soil, fishing & aquaculture, food preservation, cottage food law, pond & water management, and sustainable agriculture. Meanwhile, children will enjoy Geo Explorer Auburn and Soil Stories.

Learn more and register here! https://ruralstudio.org/2026-homestead-day/

Alabama Cooperative Extension Aquatic Resources
Alabama Extension
Alabama Fish Farming Center
Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network - ASAN
Alabama Audubon
Geo Explorer Labs
Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction
Auburn University

08/05/2026

With limited financial resources, the Dining House team members were charged to “reuse, remake, and reimagine.” They used leftover materials, used products from previous projects, and took the opportunity to mill pine trees that were cut down to allow Newbern’s municipal wastewater system.

Tolerances were the biggest challenge for the project: The team had to understand the tolerances needed when connecting to the rough cut timber structure, and they met that challenge head on in the mock-up. Unlike commercial 2x material, the rough cut timber has many dimensional inconsistences. That’s its beauty but also its beast. For a carpenter, this tolerance challenge takes years of experience and iteration to handle well, but the team had to meet the challenge in one mock-up!

The Dining House team has exercised enormous diligence, patience, and maturity in building and studying the mock-up. With that work (90% complete), they’ve tested and pushed the materials in both experimental and efficient ways and have also applied the concept of a large, expansive roof to protect the structure from the weather.

The Dining House serves as a gatehouse to the residential area of Morrisette Campus. As the mock-up nears completion, the Dining House itself is taking shape and has the slab, the courtyard porch, and some of the framing for the building walls in place. The north and south “boxes” are ready to be sheathed with plywood. Next, the team will erect structural roof columns and a substantial ridge beam to span the boxes.

We are delighted with the work! Stay tuned!

07/31/2026

Have you heard? Our new student organization, Students of Rural Studio, completed its first successful year. The organization spearheaded three Community Day events that put hands to work maintaining and helping with projects old and new and feeding folks during lean times. SRS also organized social events and inspired a little friendly competition. Capture the flag and three-legged races, anyone?

Thank you to every community member, member of faculty and staff, and students who participated and supported us. It was a phenomenal year, and we are so excited to keep checking in as Students of Rural Studio continues to evolve.

https://ruralstudio.org/whats-a-studio-without-its-students/

06/10/2026

What’s new with the Dining House? A lot! The site now has a complete foundation that includes a raised slab and concrete piers. The team has mocked up rafter assemblies and has seen to a number of other details, leaving the site just about ready for framing. Take a look at how the project is shaping up!

What has the Dining House crew been up to this spring? Following the pouring of the footings this winter, the team has since completed a raised slab foundation. Extensive rebar work, earthforming, and underground plumbing have all finished, with little in the way between now and framing. The foundat...

05/27/2026

The Spring 2026 3rd-year students completed their phase of Mark’s Home, with roof work, external sheathing, and interior framing. They celebrated this work, as well as the fruits of their History and Woodshop projects, at Pig Roast, all work they detail in their blog. Read about the last part of their semester. We hope to see them back in Newbern again soon!

Welcome back to the 3rd-year blog! Buckle up: this is going to be a big end of semester update. Site/Studio: Raise the Roof With the trusses over the house officially in place, we were excited to move on to the next phase of the build: securing the roof sheathing and beginning work on the scissor…...