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Architecture Residency

Serendipitous, Productive, Creative

during the Pandemic 2020

David Dowell, principal at el dorado inc, an architectural firm in Kansas City, found himself living at his country home near Volland during the first months of the pandemic in 2020.  His house in Kansas City had sold and closed before his new place was finished, and David and his wife Kathy Aron happily moved to the Flint Hills.  Which was fine, except David needed a quiet place with good internet to work during the weekdays.

Enter the Little House.

photo by Mike Sinclair

David has a history with this house. His 5th year architecture students in the APD (Architecture, Planning, and Design) Department at K-State designed its makeover in 2018.  This would a good time to see if the house worked… as an artist residence.

April 7, 2020
The Little House is amazing!!! Perfect in every way. Is this what an Artist Residency feels like? Connectivity is great.

April 10, 2020
During Zoom meetings, I take a break and show my colleagues my surroundings in the house – and the view out the big window.  They say, “Where ARE you?”

  photo by Mike Sinclair

May 19, 2020
The Little House has been great! I think I stacked the table and at least one chair with drawings today. I get more done here than anywhere.

June 22, 2020
We’re going to be out near Alma this week, through Thursday. May I continue my “residency” this week in the Little House? Mike [Sinclair] was thinking of coming back for one more day of photography, Wednesday or Thursday depending on his schedule and the weather.

July 12, 2020….
…working at the Little House during the pandemic, having internet calls with folks all over the world!! So many people are curious to visit when it becomes possible. I’d love to host an international gathering at some point, including the artists we’re working with in Riyadh, Portland and Minneapolis.

A few thoughts. I’m finalizing this year’s agenda for my 2020-2021 K-State studio. ….In the mix is Volland, Lone Oaks Farm in Tennessee and Sanctuary Farm in Botswana. All three share common ambitions and programming. I’ve been trying for some time to understand how they relate to one another and to promising trends in how new institutions are forming to capitalize on the best of humanity, current and future. The goal would be to start with big picture thinking – planning and defining the place of these institutions in the brave new world we are now living in, then lead into something tangible to connect dots between aspiration and the shared satisfaction of well-designed and well-built reality. I’m dealing with budding architects after all. 

David made The Little House famous on Instagram and Facebook:

El Dorado Inc
July 15 at 5:18 PM ·
Who doesn’t love a good before and after?
In the 1920 Gordon-Van Tine catalog, the interior spaces of “The Edison” were described in cheerful detail. “The living room and dining room are joined in a happy combination making one large room in place of two cramped ones, which would be very undesirable in this size house. The two windows and the Monterey front door insures cheery sunshine and on hot days, cool breezes.”
Even though all the interior walls were removed and a simple core re-inserted, the reimagining of “The Edison” stays true to the catalog.
Finish photos courtesy of Mike Sinclair
K-State Design+Make, courtesy of Eldo
K-State Design+Make, courtesy of Eldo
K-State Design+Make, courtesy of Eldo
Living room. Little House
El Dorado Inc
July 9 at 11:25 AM ·
Exterior work on House No. 1 was mostly focused on restoration. However, two small windows on the south elevation — originally above the kitchen sink — no longer made sense with the new floor plan. These windows were replaced with a much larger, ELDO-fabricated window box. The new window frames the view toward the Volland Store and strengthens the connection between the two.
photo by Mike Sinclair
El Dorado Inc
July 7 at 9:43 AM ·
Sometime in the 1930’s, a Volland resident selected their dream home out of the Gordon Van-Tine catalog. Today, that home has been transformed into a new artist studio and accommodation space for the Volland Foundation.

Photographed by Mike Sinclair, House No. 1 was a collaboration between Design+Make at Kansas State University, George Terbovich Design, and El Dorado.

https://apdesign.k-state.edu

georgeterbovichdesign.com

https://eldo.us

 

Next….

Mike Sinclair, Otto Kratzer house with The Little House, 2020.

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