NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
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PAID
PENLANO, NC
PERMIT * I
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II Penland Line
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PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS • PENLAND • NORTH CAROLINA 28765
Winter 1995
A TALE OF TWO HOUSES
The options for housing instructors, visiting art
ists, and students with a demonstrated need for
accessible housing will be richly increased this year
through the addition to the campus of two new
buildings. Arbor House, named in honor of the
students from the University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor who designed it, is the first fully accessible
housing at Penland.
Begun in 1987 and halted in 1989 for lack of
funding, the ICE House (an acronym for Integrated
Craft Environment) will feature handcrafted fur
nishings. Both projects received seed money from
the North Carolina Arts Council.
Arbor House has four rooms, each of which can
sleep two persons, with two bathrooms and a
spacious exterior deck providing a transition be
tween the land and the housing. A carefully engi
neered ramp leads from the house to the staff
parking lot where there will be protected parking for persons with
disabilities. Students and instructors with mobility impairments
or respiratory problems which make walking difficult will have
first priority for the rooms in the new building, which meets all
codes adopted in the Americans with Disabilities Act. The flexible
design allows for both privacy and interaction and can, if needed,
house family groups. It is designed to be an empathetic environ
ment and the finish detailsAnake it a truly lovely house.
Under the direction of Professor Melissa Harris, fifteen students
from the School of Architecture spent eight weeks at Penland
studying the campus and the site, developing a collaborative
design which would be harmonious with both the landscape and
the surrounding buildings, clearing the site and working on the
initial construction.
Located as we are in the mountains, the terrain of Penland's
campus presents problems for those who have impairments. Most
of the buildings are more than sixty years old. All studios except
those in the Lily Loom House (weaving and surface design) are
manageable, and there is access to the dining room. The registrar
would like to have the opportunity to discuss individual needs and
help students plan for ways to move about and take the fullest
advantage of what Penland has to offer.
ARBOR HOUSE IN PRINT
Arbor House is also the name of a new publication giving the details
of the project. Included are descriptive paragraphs from the
students covering every phase of the process and their reaction to
it. Typical of the comments is this by Fay Hsu, “1 don’t know how
many architects can truly describe what it takes, both physically
and mentally, to dig a two-foot deep foundation hole with a
shovel. Construction is an unavoidable component of architec
ture and cannot be ignored. There is not a magical machine or
little elves that build things overnight.”
Written by Melissa Harris with photographs by Richard Margolis,
the soft-bound book is available by sending a check for $5.00 to
Melissa Harris, 8101 Toma Road, Pinckney, MI 48169.
THE TIMBER FRAME ICE HOUSE
Originally conceived as both a gue.st house and a
demonstration of the integration of craft into build
ing design and furnishing, the ICE House was also
rooted in an educational project. Following the
design of architect William Hoffman, a group of
students came to Penland to study timber frame
con.struction and begin the building. This phase was
funded through the New Works program of the
North Carolina Arts Council. As other needs at
Penland became more jmessing, and additional spe
cial funding was not available, the ICE House was
boarded up and left for another day.
That day has now come as Ken Botnick has selected
it as one of the 1995 winter projects with comple
tion of the first phase of living room, bedroom, bath
and kitchenette planned for use this summer. As
time permits two additional bedrooms will be
added to the core. Handcrafted sinks, furnishings, fabric, and
architectural detail such as tiles, forged railings, and carved panels
will create the craft environment envisioned in the original plan.
Craft artists interested in donating pieces for inclusion in the ICE
House are invited to contact Donna Jean Dreyer, Director of
Development, for more information. We arc also soliciting dona
tions for Arbor House from furniture manufacturers and stores.
Specifically, we need beds, dressers,'.desks and occasional chairs.
Arbor House under construction