Fall 2007 -- Vol. 60, No. 4

The Rev. Earl Williams didn’t plan on having an empty lot. A hurricane called Katrina did that for him. But Williams saw opportunity in the devastation ... in his yard and in his community.

Williams is moving into the first Dry-In House, an award-winning project designed by Clemson architecture faculty Doug Hecker and Martha Skinner and developed with the assistance of Clemson architecture students in a Creative Inquiry course.

Dry-In House is a mass-customized, affordable housing system proposed for the reconstruction of New Orleans.

The project addresses inefficiencies in emergency housing currently provided by FEMA. It gets the owner back to his home site quickly while providing essential infrastructure — shelter, water and electricity. Families can participate in the design of their home before the structure is fabricated as well as onsite as the project is “fitted out” over time.

The Dry-In House concept uses the same automated woodcutting technology that enables each roofline to be unique in newly developed neighborhoods. By extruding the trusses to create walls and floors, landowners can design a home that can be assembled quickly on their own property. The process puts homeowners back in a permanent, but unfinished, home for about the same cost as a FEMA trailer.

Clemson’s School of Architecture is home to the project called ddbNOLA — digital design build New Orleans, La. The ddbNOLA team consists of Hecker and Skinner, students Trevor Jordan, Katie Seaman, Melissa Vandiver, Vinnie Vumbaco and Mandi Young, and a lineup of invaluable sponsors.

The team recently worked with Rev. Williams’ Trinity Christian Community — an organization dedicated to developing and promoting youth leadership in New Orleans’ Hollygrove community — to make the house a reality.

The project has earned international recognition, receiving an award from the concept category of I.D. Magazine’s Annual Design Review (2007). Earlier this year, it was exhibited at the Architectural Institute of British Columbia. Last fall it was exhibited at the world-renowned Venice Biennale. For more on the Dry-In House, go to www.field-office.com/ddbnola.