Modularity
Modular 3,
Kansas City, KS, 2006
Dan Rockhill
Lawrence, Kansas
Studio 804, the design-build program that Dan Rockhill directs at the University of Kansas, has constructed a series of affordable houses and public commissions in Kansas. As a practicing architect, Rockhill was involved in the restoration of many historical building sites in Kansas, during which he analyzed and learned from the old building techniques. He emphasizes that the ultimate intention of Studio 804 is “to make the students better architects, not better builders.” In this, the development of each individual’s capacity for craft is essential, as is their engagement of traditional construction skills. The work of the studio is “tightly bound to the natural milieu and culture of the Kansas region. In the spirit of regionalism, the area’s archetypal forms, Spartan aesthetics, frugal methods, and relationship to nature permeate the results.” Rockhill leads by example; he maintains that universities, not the profession, should be the lead for engaging new technologies for realizing sustainable, affordable, and inventive buildings; and he believes that architecture can be sustainable and beautiful at the same time.
