Summary: In Early 2019, I was offered an opportunity to participate in LA Tech’s Design/Build Studio as an Adjunct Instructor.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Design/Build Studio at Tech, here are the cliff notes:
This class, taught each year by Robert Brooks & Brad Deal, is a 12 week ‘crash course’ where 3rd year architecture students design and build a structure at Camp Alabama in Choudrant, LA, which is home to MedCamps, a summer camp for special needs campers.

Some previous works include a wonderful pavillion (Gibbs), a wheelchair accessible Kayak launch (Hero’s Launch), an accessible Archery & Paintball Range (Chaismus), a zipline (Peregrine) and a 300’ floating foot-bridge (Pisces) which connects the two halves of camp. You can watch the AIA ‘I Look Up” Film challenge winning video on Arch 335’s projects at Medcamp here, if you’d like to see more.

This years project, that I would be co-teaching, was just as exciting: we’d be building a Camp Store and Bell Tower. The store would be a renovation of an existing CMU structure. Formerly used for storage, it would now be a place for the counselors to give out snacks and prizes to campers. The Bell for the tower was donated from Ruston Methodist church, cast in 1885. It's ~2” thick of solid bronze, weighing in around 1400 lbs. It’s ring carries clear across the water, audible from the furthest reaches of Camp Alabama.

See images of the project below, or read more about it (and see process pics) in my blog post on the topic.