The Drachman Design Build Coalition, a non-profit organization at the University of Arizona’s College of Architecture + Landscape Architecture led by professor and Associate Dean, Mary Hardin, received grants from both the City of Tucson and Pima County in 2007 to fund the study, design and construction of affordable, sustainable homes for low-income families in south Tucson’s Barrio San Antonio.  The coalition researched cutting-edge energy and water conservation designs and organized a design-build studio with which to apply these lessons.  The studio facilitates hands-on experience, allowing the students to be involved in every phase of the project from research to design and construction.  I was a part of an 18-student studio in the Fall of 2011, that finalized design decisions and began the construction of the rammed-earth and wood-framed home. 

Upon completion, Tucson’s HUD office selects a deserving local family to be able to move into the home at an affordable cost. To date, DDBC has constructed six homes in South Tucson, with this sixth home being finished in May 2012.