Studio 804 is a sustainable build program at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning. In a final semester students get practical hands on experience building a sustainable and affordable building.

Recently the latest Studio 804 project was a response to the horrible tornado that flattened the entire Kansas town called Greensburg (the irony of a town called Greensburg getting a green-build makeover can’t be missed.)

To jump start the towns redevelopment Studio 804 proposed building a sustainable prototype that would be applicable for multiple uses. The city could then have a model to build around as other commercial and residential structures were built. The particular project building though would function as a community center that would also house the towns art gallery as a way to promote sustainability and the arts, the theme of the prototype.

Once completed the city could then have a living building to use as a model for continued re-engineering of their new city. The Studio 804 design includes both passive sustainable energy planning such as cross-ventilation, and active systems such as wind turbines and a geothermal heat pump.

Finished, the building is a great example of how affordability and sustainability can work hand-in-hand. How can we not love this project – after all Modern House Magazine was partly developed to promote this very idea.

View the Studio 804 Feature Slide Show here.