Associate Architecture Professor Stephen Duff had a vision. He wanted to create something unusual with his students; something they could design and build together. Now that vision is slowly coming to life in the ongoing construction of the Millrace Kiln Shed.
Tucked away from prying eyes and campus hustle and bustle in a corner of the Urban Farm on the Millrace, the shed will house two kilns run by the University’s art department.
“We’re over here quietly building something extraordinary,” Duff said.
Duff and his students decided to design their project drawing inspiration from traditional Japanese temples because the shed will house a gigantic Japanese wood-fire kiln. The heavy-timber shed, which measures about 15,000 square feet, will feature walls with an intricate lattice and round columns sitting on concrete Japanese-style column bases. Duff said the walls are both structural and ornamental.
While the shed has already been designed and construction has started, students can still participate in its completion. Duff is offering a number of design-build apprenticeship workshops this term to architecture students and, for the first time, to non-majors as well.
Duff said he started the project not only to develop students’ design judgment, but also give them practical experience in construction. Such an approach goes beyond what architecture students usually do for their final projects, which is to just design and create models of buildings.
“You design imaginary buildings,” Duff said. “That’s a very powerful way to learn, but its still imaginary.”
Design-build classes like Duff’s give students the chance to turn the imaginary into a tangible structure. Students work on the project as Duff’s apprentices, closely collaborating with him on all aspects of the construction.
“I try to get them inside my head,” he said. “I open the whole process to them.”
The craft of design and construction is intensive. At the design stage, the team had to draw plans that would meet all required building standards to get a building license from the city. Now with construction underway, the team has to meticulously cut and prepare the wooden pieces for the walls and the roof, which will then be fitted together.
Before the actual construction, the team fashioned an ornamental model of one of the walls from cardboard. They also molded more than 30 plastic models of the column bases, refining them until they found a satisfactory sample, Duff said. He added that this was one of the most challenging parts of the process.
“The sequence of construction is very critical,” Duff said.
Apart from the daily challenges of shaping all the pieces right and hauling about heavy bits of timber, the crew also has to deal with fluctuating weather conditions. Duff said they usually try to get everything done before it starts to rain and they have to cover the finished sections with plastic to keep out the moisture.
Although the project started about four years ago, it was stopped due to an 80 percent cut in funding, Duff said. With help from some of the heads of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, Duff was able to secure more funding and resumed the project last spring. He said the University contributed $50,000, and he has also managed to raise about $30,000 from different donors. He estimates that in the real world such a project, including design, construction and labor costs, would cost about a $1 million .
Several students have already worked on the project. This summer alone Duff said he had a crew of more than 30 students.
Third-year graduate student Mark Couet, who has been building things since high school, started working on the project at the end of summer vacation. He said he joined the class not only because of his interest in building, but also because he loves the design and the work that has been put into the shed so far.
“It’s an unbelievable project,” said Couet as he prepared to make some adjustments to a piece of wood with a power plane. “It’s ambitious, and it’s beautiful too.”
Couet is currently helping to finish one of the walls with the help of sophomore Eric Myers, who just started working on the project.
“I like being able to see the process it takes and how the materials fit together,” Myers said as he applied a protective coating to another piece of wood.
Myers, who hopes to get into the architecture program, added that it is important to get practical experience.
“I also like to get my hands dirty and keeping them strong, and being outside,” he said. “No need to be sitting behind a desk.”
Students can still register for the workshops and earn two to six credits, depending on their time commitment. Workshop are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and weekends. According to the course description, students will get a chance to finish assembling the main frame and put it in place, work on framing for the roof, as well as groundwork, which includes a Japanese-style water drainage system under the eaves, paths and paving.
Duff said there is a long tradition of design-build classes on campus: The first class was offered in 1922 and students have since constructed a number of structures both on and off campus.
Duff said his own love for building, as well as the fulfillment of watching students learn new things about design gives him the motivation to undertake such projects.
“I am nourished by making beautiful things,” Duff said.

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