roundwood house

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 contents
process
04 rural studio + 20K program
06 roundwood
08 design concept
10 wood experimentation
12 truss
14 site plan
16 final drawings

construction
20 harvesting trees
22 batter boards + foundations
24 debarking & treating
26 knaebe connection
32 floor framing
34 truss assembly
36 wall panels
40 building layers
42 porch details
46 core
50 interior finishes
58 exterior finishes
64 thank you
65 contact information

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 v1 2004-2005 Mrs. Phillip’s house

v2 2005-2006 Frank’s house

v3 2006-2007 Joe & Sherman’s house

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 rural studio
The Rural Studio is a unique design-
build program based in the heart of
west-central Alabama. The ongoing
mission of the Rural Studio is to allow
students to work within the context
of the local culture and community in
order to create pragmatic yet inspired
architectural solutions. This philosophy
advances the idea that students are
able to improve themselves as well
as their community through hard
work, involvement, and an intimate
connection to the people and places for
which they design.

20K program
The 2007/2008 Thesis year at Rural
Studio was charged with designing
the “20K House”. This project is based
on a government loan known as the
Section 502 Mutual Self-Help Housing
loan. This is a subsidized loan created
to help those with extremely low
incomes to reach the goal of home
ownership. $20,000 is the smallest
loan amount provided through the
502 government program. Therefore
the goal of the 20K house is to build
a home for approximately $10,000
in materials and $10,000 in labor.
This home provides the owner with
an alternative to the prevalent trailer,
which depreciates over time and leaves
the client in a downward spiral of debt
and destitution. The 20K house aspires
to be warm, dry, safe, and hopefully a
beautiful home for all those who qualify
for the loan.

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 roundwood
In addition to the 20K project, one
team of four individuals was offered the
opportunity to build with “Roundwood”.
Roundwood is simply small diameter
timber that has been cut by the local
forestry department in order to create
more space and encourage a healthier
ecosystem within the forest. These
timbers have a minimal monetary value
and are often left on the forest floor
to decay. The Rural Studio alongside
the rural sociology department at
Auburn University has received a 3-year
grant in order to study the possible
application of this material within rural
communities. The goal set forth by our
year was to use the timbers in their
most raw form. This means the timbers
would be used round and green without
the aid of wood-misers or drying kilns.
The roundwood house is the result of
research and experimentation paralleled
with the goal of creating an inexpensive
yet noble home.

the wigwam space-frame roof system Hooke Park

Edinburgh, Scotland USDA Forest Products Lab workshop building
Dr. Malcolm Chrisp Dorset, England
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 design concept
The concept of our roundwood house
was based around the characteristics
of the wood. Because we desired to
avoid any harsh chemical treatments,
the wood needed to be sheltered in
order to ensure its longevity. Therefore,
the house became divided into three
conceptual layers. The roundwood
would be the bones of the house and
provide all of the structure. A thin skin
would sit just outside the roundwood,
wrapping the house and acting as the
protective layer. Finally, the core sits
centered within the house and contains
the utilities and storage.

stone houses green barn porch house house, cap ferret

Metropolitan Museum of Art Newbern, AL Semily, Czech Republic Cap Ferret, France
Andy Goldsworthy Archteam Lacaton & Vassal

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 wood experimentation
Research and experimentation was the
first step in finding an application for
these small diameter timbers. Initially,
several ideas were explored through
mock-ups and trial procedures including
bending, connecting, and protecting
the wood. Several bending tests quickly
demonstrated that loblolly pine, the
primary species of wood used, was
unstable and unpredictable. Structural
applications for small bent pieces of
wood seemed unlikely due its tendency
to break without warning and a small
bending radius. Further research proved
that the wood was most structurally
stable when used in tension and
compression.
Protecting the wood from exposure to
the elements and drying-in the house
was another primary concern that was
addressed through experimentation.
Some of the early tests included using
laths with plaster, cob, and a concrete/
mud mixture. Although the cob and
concrete mixture showed promise, it
was decided that plastering over the
structure could be problematic due the
tendency of the wood to shrink and
twist.

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 truss
Because research dictated the best
use for the wood was in tension and
compression, exploring the truss as
a possibility for structural purposes
became the next logical step. Several
iterations were explored with a few
variables in mind. The form should
allow for the most efficient floor plan.
The structural logic of the form should
be paralleled with a strong spatial logic.
The house should touch the ground
in as few places as possible. And the
form of the structure should allow for
application of a protective skin.

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 Greensboro, Alabama

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site plan

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 final drawings
01 29 gauge R-panel
02 1/2” osb
03 2x2 battens
04 radiant barrier
05 R-19 batt insulation
06 R-13 batt insulation
01
07 2x6 joists @ 2’ o.c.
02 08 2x4 studs @ 4’ o.c.
03 09 1/2” plywood
04
05
07
09

09

08

06

04

03

01

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harvesting trees

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batter boards + foundations

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 debarking & treating
In order to ready the wood for
construction, it went through several
steps of preparation. The first and most
arduous task was the debarking of the
wood. This process involves thin draw
blades that peeled the bark away from
the timber. The next step was a light
chemical treatment involving a boron-
based solution that protected the wood
from fungal and insect attacks. This
solution, known as BoraCare, was ideal
treatment as it was an easy and non-
toxic application process. Alternative
treatment methods involved harsh
chemicals and specialized knowledge
and equipment.
In preparation, a long shallow trench
was dug and lined with plastic
sheeting. The BoraCare solution was
diluted with water and poured into
a standard garden sprayer. As the
Roundwood was sprayed the excess
BoraCare would gather in the bottom
of the ditch and soak further into the
wood. The timbers were then stacked
under a shed and left to air dry. After
the BoraCare dried the wood could
be sanded. Finally, holes were drilled
through the log so that dowel-nut
connections could be inserted.

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 elevation section

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 knaebe connection
01
Initially, it was decided flitch plates
02 would be used to connect the different
members of the truss. Unfortunately,
03
one of the many properties of this
04
species of the wood is its tendency to
shrink and twist as it dries. Because
we received the material straight from
the forest, it would take several years
for the wood to completely dry. Flitch
plates would be ineffective due to the
05
shrinking and twisting effect. With the
06 help of Mark Knabe, a member of the
USDA Forest Service, a simple connec-
07
tion was developed that would allow
08 the wood to twist and shrink while
remaining stable and structural. The
connection consists of a standard ¼”
thick steel pipe cut into 10” lengths.
A dowel-nut connection previously
inserted into the logs are then inserted
into what has been coined the “Knabe
connection” and tightened with a nut
and washer.
Further development allowed the con-
nection to be used for a multitude of
purposes. It became the structural
connector for the truss as well as a way
to support the roof and floor system.
Steel plates welded inside the pipe
provide attachment points for the roof
and wall panels. These panels provide
a protective and isolative barrier.

01 dowel
02 washer
03 wall panel plate
04 threaded rod
05 1/2” bolt
06 roof flitch plate
07 tube sleeve
08 compressopn sleeve

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 floor framing
2x6 joists @ 16” o.c.
2 2x12 girders

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truss assembly

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 wall panels
After experimentation with primitive
mud, cob, and plastering techniques
proved unsuitable, it was decided
that thin panels made out of standard
building materials would act as the skin
of the house. Because the Roundwood
provides the structure of the house, the
panels would need minimal support.
The wall panels consisted of 2x4s
laid in a 4ft. x 4ft. grid. Each panel
was 8ft. wide. A ½” layer of plywood
would then be painted and applied to
the 2x4s. This plywood layer stabilized
the panels as they were moved into
place and acted as the interior finish.
Constructing the panels with the interior
finish pre-applied avoided difficult finish
work around the truss. Also, instead
of butting the plywood sheets directly
against one another, a ¼” reveal was
left. This reveal reduced time spent on
finish work and provided an interesting
compositional element.
The panels were then lifted into place
and bolted to ¼” steel plates that
protrude from the Knabe connections.
Attaching the panels directly to the steel
connections kept the skin separate from
the Roundwood, thereby allowing the
wood to twist and shrink without directly
affecting the walls of the house. After
the wall and roof panels were bolted
into place, standard batt insulation was
inserted followed by a radiant/vapor
barrier. Combining the batt insulation
and the radiant barrier increased the R-
value of these thin walls to R-27. Batons
placed on top of the radiant barrier
provided a necessary air gap between
the barrier and the corrugated metal.

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 building layers
01 2x4 wall panels
1/2” plywood
2x4 studs in 4’ grid

02 batt insulation
R-13 walls
R-19 roof & floor

03 radiant barrier
R-14 Prodex

04 battons
2x2 strips @ 2’ o.c.

05 metal
29 gauge R-panel

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 core
The development of the core was a
long debated topic. In the original
floor plan, the core consisted of two
separate units pushed against the
roundwood truss. The bathroom
was on the east side. The kitchen
which doubled as the corridor to the
bedroom, was on the west side of the
house. As building progressed, the
client expressed interest in bringing
her current washer and dryer into the
house. The solution that developed
from this dilemma was a centralized
core. Centralizing the core also had
several other benefits. Pulling the core
to interior of the house allowed for an
increased amount of storage, space
for the washer and dryer, a natural
way to divide public space from private
space, and it exposed the beauty of the
roundwood truss. In order to achieve
maximum efficiency, the core was
erected using only two stud walls in an
“L” shape. These stud walls contain all
of the plumbing and the majority of the
electrical wiring within the house. The
remaining core walls were designed to
be ultra-thin, consisting of one, two, or
three, layers of ¾” plywood. Building
thin walls created more useable space
within the house. The closets and
shelving were prefabricated, which
simplified the construction process, and
helped stabilize the core.

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 01 kitchen
03

02 04

02 bath
01

03 bedroom

04 laundry

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interior finishes

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exterior finishes

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thank you Jim Turnipseed
Turnipseed International, Inc.
David Buege p 205.991.8832
jim@turnipseed.biz
Mark Wise
Joe Farruggia
Andrew Freear GFGR
Anne Bailey p 312.831.2000 ext 23
Akron Boys & Girls Club team JLF@GFGR.com
ArchitectureWorks John Marusich
Brenda Wilkerson Johnny Parker
Colin McCown Lindsay Butler
AWPA Lions Park Bathrooms team
PO Box 361784 Lions Park Surfaces team
Birmingham, AL 35236-1784 Dr. Malcolm Chrisp
www.awpa.com
Mark Dubois
p 205.733.4077
f 205.733.4075 Mark Knaebe
mccown@awpa.com USDA Forest Products Laboratory
p 608.231.9422
Conner Bailey f 602.231.9592
Professor of Rural Sociology
mknaebe@fs.fed.us
202 Comer Hall
Auburn University, AL 36849-5406 Michelle Coomes
p 334.844.5632 Mike & Francis Sullivan
f 334.844.5639 Natalie Butts
bailelc@auburn.edu Pam Dorr & HERO
Cynthia Ragland & Nicholas Larson Rebecca Broome
Talladega National Forest, Region 8 Richard Harris
p 205.926.9765
f 205.926.9712
second year rs students 2007-2008
cragland@fs.fed.us Steve Long
Dan Splaingard thesis year rs students 2008-2009
Danny Wicke Victor & everyone at Hale Supply
Denver Waldorf School 8th grade class
our lecturers & jurors
fellow 20k thesis teams
Anderson Inge
Gayle Etheridge Brett Nave
Gerald Glenn Chris Callot
Pella Coleman Coker
p 205.271.7319 Dale Mulfinger
f 205.324.2368 Dan Wheeler
gglenn@jfday.com David Perkes
Jason Coomes Katie & Clifton Burt
Jason Warren Marlon Blackwell
Lesco, Homewood Michael Berk
p 205.290.0100 Michael Hughes
sls417@lesco.com Paul Stoller
Dr. Jeff Lloyd Petia Morozov
Nisus Corporation Rusty Smith
100 Nisus Drive Steve Badanes
Rockford, TN 37853 Steve Luoni
www.nisuscorp.com Tad Gloeckler
p 800.264.0870 Xavier Vendrell
jeffl@nisuscorp.com

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 contact information
Ryan Coleman
diffarch@gmail.com
256.338.6476

Matt Mueller
mattmuel@gmail.com
205.335.8678

Mackenzie Stagg
staggmm@gmail.com
205.901.6202

Laurianne Uguen
laurianne_uguen@hotmail.com
00.33.6.2694.1267

Auburn University Rural Studio

Newbern campus
Rural Studio
PO Box 278
Newbern, AL 36765
t 334.624.4483
f 334.624.6015

Auburn Campus
Rural Studio
CADC School of Architecture
104 Dudley Hall
Auburn University, AL 36849

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