CBCS students to build rental home

Town puts up lot and cost of construction for project

By Aimee Eaton

Twelve students at the Crested Butte Community School are making a small dent in the upper valley’s rental housing crisis during their classroom hours, and they’re not doing it by renting out their bedrooms.

In a partnership with the town of Crested Butte, and with the help of area builders, engineers and architects, students in CBCS teacher Todd Wasinger’s applied architecture class are designing and building an 1,100-square-foot home on a town-owned micro-lot located near the water treatment station.

Upon its completion the home will provide rental housing for town employees, and the students will have gained real-world experience both in the design/build process and in addressing an important community issue.

“There is a program at Auburn University where architecture students are tasked with getting out of the classroom to design and build homes in rural Alabama—one of the poorest areas in the nation,” said Wasinger. “It’s a true hands-on experience, and I’d spent a lot of time thinking about how I could give something like that to students in the engineering and architecture classes. When I read an article about town exploring micro-lots it started to come together.”

In early 2016 Wasinger approached the Town Council about using a lot in the 79 and 80 blocks, an area slated for affordable housing, as a real-world classroom. The idea was simple: The town would retain ownership of the lot and structure, pay tap and construction fees, and work with the students to ensure design criteria were met. In exchange the students would create the plans for the home, delve into zoning and code issues, create models of their ideas for presentation before the council, and ultimately work with local crews to swing the hammers that would build the home.

“When the opportunity came around to partner with the school at one of the micro-lot sites, the planning office and the council saw the potential to get students involved in the design of a smaller structure where they would need to problem-solve and create, and where they would actually be working on a current trend in housing development toward smaller homes,” said Crested Butte town planner Michael Yerman.

With those hopes in mind a partnership was formed and the students were put to work learning everything they could about the town’s design guidelines and zoning codes. On top of that they were tasked with learning new drafting software, rules of spatial arrangement and elements of design that would complement the 2,750-square-foot lot.

“Often we would find out the things they needed to know after they started drawing,” said Wasinger of the sometimes-steep learning curve the students encountered. “They’d be trying to put big house features in a small house, like a huge kitchen island that left only a foot to the wall. We wanted them to be creating in reality so all the students learned the town’s building codes and technical regulations. We were clear that they weren’t drawing in a fantasy land.”

The students were expected to learn how everything from rooflines to water heaters impact the design of a home.

“For a lot of these students, a small home isn’t something they have much experience with,” said Wasinger. “At first they were frustrated by the spatial limitations, but now they’re beginning to see that a lot of elegance and thought needs to be built into a smaller structure to maximize the space.”

Because Wasinger’s background is in science, not architecture or design, he’s been collaborating with several people in the field.

“Gary Hartman from Sunlit Architecture has been incredibly generous with his time and expertise,” said Wasinger. “We meet every week for an hour to go over the project and plan for what’s coming next. The community and industry support has been incredible and has had a direct impact on the students’ work.”

In addition to Hartman, other project advisors include Dodson Harper and August Hasz from the Resource Engineering Group; John Stock from High Mountain Builders, a high-end construction and building group in the valley; real estate agent Crockett Farnell; architect and designer/builder Chris Laggis; Bob Gillie, the town’s building and zoning director; and CBCS manufacturing and build teacher Adam Ofstedahl.

“Without all of the outside help, the project would not be where it is,” said Wasinger. “It wouldn’t work without them, and they’ve been incredibly generous with their time and expertise.”

Last week, the class presented three models: a one-story, a two-story and a flipped two-story (bedrooms on the bottom and living space on the second floor) to Yerman and Gillie for the town’s consideration and feedback. The goal is for the town to select one model and for the students to move forward refining and working on the design of the selection before presenting their plans to the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) in February. If they receive BOZAR approval, the class, which is comprised of two sophomores and 10 upperclassmen, will move forward to prepare construction documents with the expectation of breaking ground in May.

“We’re hoping to have the foundation done by June and to offer a summer course for credit where students will build the house,” said Wasinger. “It’s a very dynamic project with a lot of moving pieces, and as we move toward construction we need to set it up so students can still have a summer.”

The town has budgeted about $150,000 for the construction of the home, and Yerman said the town is optimistic and excited about the plans the students have for the build.

“The staff and Town Council have been very impressed with professionalism and products produced by the class,” said Yerman. “They have overwhelmingly done such a great job in learning the town guidelines and applying them to what they’ve been designing. Our hope is they’ll now start to learn intricacies of architectural design and we’ll be ready for construction in the spring.”

This is the first in an ongoing series following the student build project. Look for the next installment in a few weeks focusing on the students as they get ready to go before BOZAR.