Courtney Kuhlen

Mike Gonos, St. Louis third-year graduate student in architecture; Joe Davidson, fifth-year architecture student; and Randy Taylor, third-year graduate student in architecture, discuss the building plans Wednesday for the house they are building with their Studio 804 class. Students in the class designed the house, which will go to a Kansas City, Kan., family.

Scott Clark virtually lives in a warehouse at the intersection of Seventh and New Jersey streets. Monday through Saturday his workday begins at 7:30 a.m., and, on some days, it doesn’t end until 9 p.m. But this was the reason Clark came to the University of Kansas.

Clark, a graduate student from Columbia, Mo., is one of 18 architecture students in Studio 804 who, for the next four months, will build an entry-level house for a family in Kansas City, Kan. The group has scheduled an open house visitation for May 21.

“It’s pretty intense,” Clark said. “It’s expected though. I think that it’s a lot more work than what we get in a regular studio. We actually get to put to use, put into practice what we learn.”

The 1,200 square-foot house will have two bedrooms and one bathroom and will be built over a full basement and garage, said Randy Taylor, St. James, Mo., graduate student.

The group of architecture students — 10 graduate students and eight fifth-year seniors — started the house’s overall design on Jan. 3, but it continues to tweak it as the work progresses.

The group has completed much of the house’s framing, flooring and temporary foundation after a week and a half of working, Taylor said.

The students built the frame on Monday and raised it on Tuesday. Before that, it took the students three days to lay the floor beams and a few days to fill in the foundation, he said.

They were in charge of everything from design layout, to construction, to interior design, Taylor said. Sub-contractors will install critical elements such as electricity, plumbing, heating and ventilation, but the Studio 804 students had more responsibilities than than most professionals, Taylor said. Most professional architects design a building and oversee the construction contractor.

“I think this is unique in the sense we’re actually building what we design,” Taylor said.

The studio was given a contracted budget of $105,000 from the City Vision Ministries in association with the Rosedale Development Association and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County. The students could spend the budget however they chose, and they were not responsible for site improvement costs such as landscaping and foundation, which included the garage. The market rate for this type of house would sell around the $150,000 range, said Dan Rockhill, professor of architecture.

Studio 804 builds a house for Lawrence residents every spring semester. But because of a lack of available property in Lawrence, the house will be transported to Kansas City, Kan., for the second consecutive year, Rockhill said.

The program is in its seventh year, and last year’s house won Architecture Magazine’s Home of the Year Award, Rockhill said.

But previous Studio 804 houses have been criticized for not having enough storage space, so this house will come equipped with 40 feet of shelving space, Taylor said.

Courtney Kuhlen

Ryan Burton, Wichita fifth-year architecture student, works with metal rebar on Wednesday morning. Architecture students are responsible for both the construction and interior design aspects of the project.

The house will also comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act with a wheelchair-accessible bathroom, hallway and a ramp to the front door.

In order to transport the house to Kansas City, it has been constructed into six modules of 200 square-feet each, Taylor said.

The transportation date is scheduled for the first week in April. The group will then work in Kansas City to piece the house back together and complete any site improvements, Taylor said.