Design Build - Rock Chalk Prairie Acre - RCPA

Design build is a cornerstone of the architecture program at the University of Kansas. Students get hands on experience with the whole design process all the way through to completed construction.

The RCPA is an outdoor classroom situated along the only remaining single acre of original Kansas prairie at the University of Kansas. This project retrofits a former design build studios project where I personally designed and welded steel rails for concrete benches. This provided me the skills of welding as well as 3D laser scanning. I had to scan the original gabion wall to get accurate measurements of the curvature for fabrication.

Beyond retrofitting, this project added to the design concrete flooring and a wooden pavilion to draw people in. The pavilion features a wooden sign with information about the adjacent prairie acre and names of the generous donors for our project. I also expanded my welding skills but welding the metal frame upon which the wooden frame is affixed.