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DesignBuildBLUFF is a program of the University of Utah
University of Utah

The University of Utah is a public university research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of ten institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education and Utah's premier research school currently enrolls 21,526 undergraduate and 6,684 graduate student students and has 1,419 regular Faculty members....
, noted for its award-winning and innovative home designs. Each year, students from the University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning
University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning

The University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning is an academic college of the University of Utah, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture and city and metropolitan planning....
 design and build a home for a member of the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomy Native Americans in the United States homeland covering about 26,000 square miles , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico....
, at no charge to the home recipient. The homes are built with sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture

Sustainable architecture, is a general term that describes environmentally-conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of sustainability and the pressing economic and political issues of our world....
 techniques and feature locally produced construction materials.

History
DesignBuildBLUFF was founded in 2000 by University of Utah Professor Hank Louis.






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Encyclopedia


DesignBuildBLUFF is a program of the University of Utah
University of Utah

The University of Utah is a public university research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of ten institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education and Utah's premier research school currently enrolls 21,526 undergraduate and 6,684 graduate student students and has 1,419 regular Faculty members....
, noted for its award-winning and innovative home designs. Each year, students from the University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning
University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning

The University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning is an academic college of the University of Utah, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture and city and metropolitan planning....
 design and build a home for a member of the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomy Native Americans in the United States homeland covering about 26,000 square miles , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico....
, at no charge to the home recipient. The homes are built with sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture

Sustainable architecture, is a general term that describes environmentally-conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of sustainability and the pressing economic and political issues of our world....
 techniques and feature locally produced construction materials.

History


DesignBuildBLUFF was founded in 2000 by University of Utah Professor Hank Louis. The program is modeled on a design-build
Design-Build

Design-build is a construction project delivery system where, in contrast to "design-bid-build" , the design and construction aspects are contracted for with a single entity known as the design-builder or design-build contractor....
 program at Auburn University
Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, Alabama, United States With more than 24,100 students and 1,200 faculty, it is one of the largest university in the state....
, known as the Rural Studio
Rural Studio

The Rural Studio is a design-build architecture studio run by Auburn University which aims to teach students about the social responsibilities of the profession of architecture while also providing safe, well-constructed and inspirational homes and buildings for poor communities in rural west Alabama, part of the so-called "Black Belt "....
, which was founded by Samuel Mockbee
Samuel Mockbee

Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee was an United States of America architect and a co-founder of the Auburn University Rural Studio program in Hale County, Alabama....
. In the Rural Studio model, students abandon the comforts of campus and home for a cooperative life, plus the opportunity to learn about architecture
Architecture

The term architecture can refer to a process, a profession or documentation.As a process, architecture is the activity of designing and construction buildings and other physical structures by a person or a computer, primarily to provide shelter....
 through action. The design-build paradigm emphasizes experimentation, scale mock-ups, in-process design iterations, consensus-building through ideas and emotions, and juxtaposing diametrically opposed cultures.

Design and construction

The program emphasizes the design and construction of Navajo Nation homes using "green-build" techniques such as earthen plaster
Earthen plaster

Earthen plaster is a blend of clay, fine aggregate, and fiber. Other common additives include pigments, Lime , casein, animal dung, and linseed oil....
, rammed earth
Rammed earth

Rammed earth, also known as pis? de terre or simply pis?, is a type of construction material. It is an age-old construction method that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek more sustainability building materials and natural building methods....
, passive solar
Passive solar

Passive solar technologies are means of using solar energy for useful energy without use of active mechanical systems . Such technologies convert sunlight into usable heat , cause air-movement for ventilating, or future use, with little use of other energy sources....
, rainwater catchment
Rainwater harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of rainwater. Traditionally, rainwater harvesting has been practiced in arid and semi-arid areas, and has provided drinking water, domestic water, water for livestock, water for small irrigation and a way to increase ground water levels....
, permaculture
Permaculture

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and perennial agriculture systems that mimic the relationships found in the natural Ecology....
, straw bale construction, Icynene foam
Foam

The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid or solid. It can also refer to anything that is analogous to such a phenomenon, such as quantum foam....
 (a green, water-based, open-celled building insulation product
Building insulation materials

A selection of insulation materials can aid in building insulation. All of these are based on standard principles of thermal insulation.Materials used to reduce heat transfer by Heat conduction, Radiant energy or convection are employed in varying combinations to achieve the desired outcome ....
), and materials salvaged from the landscape of the reservation itself such as substratum and reed from the local riverbed.

Design plans are formatted around donated and recycled materials such as windows, doors and appliances. Additionally, the homes are built from a unique Navajo Nation-produced Flex-Crete, a new concrete block product made with fibrous aggregate from the surrounding soil, thereby further reducing the need to import building materials. Building sustainable, off-grid
Off-the-grid

The term off the grid or off-grid refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities.Off-grid homes are Autonomous building?i.e....
 homes that have little impact on the environment accomplishes the Navajo Nation the mission of respecting the landscape while providing adequate housing.

Projects

  • 2000 - Bandstand Project
  • 2001 - Bend In the River Project
  • 2002 & 2003 - The Kunga House
  • 2004 - Rosie Joe House
  • 2005 - Brian Johnson House
  • 2006 - Caroline Lameman House
  • 2007 - Dora and Baxter Benally House


Gallery


External links