momeld - modern living | modern design

The last Rural Studio post introduced you to some houses in Mason’s Bend but the students also built a community center/ chapel in the area. This is the project that I was most excited to see as all the photographs that I have seen of it are fantastic. I was forewarned that I may be surprised to see the condition of it and that the car windows (which are the skin of the building) had been removed for cleaning.

This is what I saw upon pulling up to the site:

An old trailer has been parked right in front of it and there were chickens roaming around. Unfortunately, this building has not been appreciated as much as it should. I could see it as a great place to hang out for students after school or even for a community meeting are party. The walls have some remnants of children’s drawings left behind which hints to the fact that is has had some use and after its cleaning will get much more.

here are some shots when it was a little newer:

The walls of the structure are made of rammed earth containing local clay, cement, and a small amount of water. The walls are capped by a rusting metal drip edge that compliments the color of the earth. The roof is a combination of aluminum sheets and 1980s GMC sedan car windows salvaged from a Chicago scrap yard. Both aluminum and glass are bolted to a light weight metal frame.

The details, like all the projects are pretty nice.

+ flickr set
Related Posts:
Rural Studio #1
Rural Studio #2
Rural Studio #3

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