Architecture students don’t ordinarily aspire to design shacks, but two at Texas A&M University did just that to help raise funds for Habitat for Humanity.
The shack was part of Shack-A-Thon, a fundraiser for the Texas A&M University chapter of Habitat for Humanity, in which various student organizations built temporary homes in auctioned spaces around the Rudder Fountain.
“It’s definitely the most comfortable shack here,” said architecture student Laura Crow of the shack built by students in three campus organizations: the American Institute of Architecture Students, the Design-Build Institute of America and the Emerging Green Builders.
“The others are more like little wooden ovens,” said architecture student Eva Peterson, who preferred the College of Architecture student shack, which was open-ended on both sides to provide a comfortable breeze for students hanging out on the two inside couches.
Two students, Ashley Cooper and Sam Brisendine, designed the structure as a architecture studio project. The simple but very functional structure resembled a tent. It was supported by a bamboo frame and covered with canvas treated with Scotchgard to keep its inhabitants dry. However, the rain proofing proved to be somewhat inadequate in the toad-strangling downpour that deluged the makeshift village on the last day of the event.
“We got wet,” noted one student in the group who carried the shack back to the Langford Architecture Center.
