Dakota 2010 – The Abode

"I really enjoyed learning how to use all sorts of new tools and feel confident in the construction process.  Also seeing the details of each connection coming together was critically important in expanding my knowledge of how a design becomes reality."
 - Charley U. -University of Colorado, Boulder

The Abode, a sleeping shelter completed in August of 2010, was the first project designed and built on the RAW Dakota site in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Perched on a granite outcropping, high above the tops of the Ponderosa pines, the Abode site offered real challenges for design and construction.  Students absorbed information by day and sketched into the night as three days of design quickly turned to hands-on construction.  

Material connections were a primary workshop focus.  The Abode straddles three granite fins running diagonally across the site, requiring dexterity in footing placement and attachment.  Columns, built up from smaller pine members, connect ground to floor to roof, while remaining nearly transparent in profile.  The process of deliberating, loading, cutting and fitting provided the students with an unfiltered connection to the site.  

Thanks to all our participants: Marco P. (Auburn University), Amanda K. (University of NE), Kirsten P. (Washington University), Charley U. (University of CO)

Materials: Concrete, rebar, ponderosa pine, fasteners, steel cable, corrugated galvanized steel
Dimensions: 12' x 18'
Elevation: 5595 ft