apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've watched it and found it to be very interesting. As much as I love modern architecture, I did happen to agree with some of the neighborhood residents that they didn't want them "experimenting" in their neighborhood. Personally, I would have liked to see the students come up with something a bit more modern along the same vernacular without being over the top, but the design that was chosen is a very good one. I think the best part of the show is the young woman who had her design chosen - a caucasian girl with a thick Carribean accent. Priceless.

Any time architecture students can get experience handling building materials and seeing what their designs really do "in the wild", it's a good thing. For that reason, I wish they were building with materials other than SIPs--they should learn what it means when you have to cut every single piece of lumber, plywood, OSB, etc, to a goofy size because the architect couldn't be arsed designing something where most of the pieces would come out even.

I guess we posted at the same time, but yeah, MatD, it's always a little irritating when we treat impoverished areas that have been victims of natural disasters as if we are doing them some great favor by experimenting on their neighborhoods.

Not unusual. Other architecture schools have similar programs. University of Kansas architecture school has a studio program where they build a new structure each year, usually a home, but a community building for tornado ravaged Greensburg, KS this year:
http://www.studio804.com/

I just wish I got the Sundance Channel. Would like to watch this show.

I really enjoyed watching the pilot and can't wait to see how the season unfolds. I'm glad to see that the project acknowledges that the house must be sustainable, not only in terms of eco-consciousness in design but also in the sense that future residents don't just want houses--they want homes that they can afford to own and maintain.*

BTW, I don't have the Sundance Channel either, but I caught the first episode on hulu. I've heard that you can also purchase episodes from the iTunes store but haven't had the chance to check it out yet.

*I'm looking at you, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

The first episode is available free of charge on iTunes; that is where I became aware of this show a few weeks ago (I don't have the Sundance channel). I didn't like the show; the students were more annoying to me than impressive (I get more than enough of whiny, naive, idealistic architecture students from our undergrad interns at work every day).

As someone else mentioned, this kind of project isn't uncommon in A schools; there are quite a few doing this kind of thing. Auburn's Urban Studio has done some really interesting and innovative work.

I barely got through the free episode; definitely won't be buying any. I don't think I'd watch it if it were broadcast free of charge online; just wasn't very good.

i got screener copies of the eps so i've seen the whole series, and it really is quite great. they do bring up issues with the neighbors about the design of the houses -- there is tension, so that conflict does not go ignored by the producers. they also go into the politics of who gets to own the house, should it automatically go to someone from the neighborhood, or just whoever can immediately put up the money? very interesting show!

I work in affordable housing in SF, our projects have always get design awards. Trust me, giving people who normally do not have access to good design an interesting project, they will appreciate it. It is mostly the younger residents that find the details we slave over "cool".
The thing I didn't like about this show, based on the 3rd episode, is that local residence cant afford to buy these houses. They should try and work along the Rural Studio mode of providing housing for poor and low income people or make a more modest residence that could be affordable to local residence.
I don't know how the series ends and who gets into these houses, but based on episode 3, it looks like they need some more community outreach and studies.

As an architecture student, I must say that I have felt this show is a long time coming. Between the absurdity of studio life (just now arriving home after a 13 hour day working on a project) and the often volatile mix of little sleep and high pressure deadlines, I definitely thought there would be some good TV in there.

However, after watching one of the episodes, I must say that I was not impressed with the students designs. The quality of their basic designs was similar to first or second years at my school (however, without the structural and "built" knowledge). The building, in my opinion, looks very generic without the strong character that is tied to New Orleans .

There is much to be applauded in design/build: hands-on knowledge, the opportunity to do charitable work, et all, but in the end, I feel like the project missed the mark.

That being said, I am excited for those who have never had a studio to get a peek into what we do and go through all the time.