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John Hollenhorst reportingA University of Utah architectural program has begun attracting attention and awards.
For months at a time, students live in one of the most remote parts of Utah, dramatically altering lives while they learn.
The American Institute of Architects has honored a house known as the Rosie Joe House, with a design award. It's one of several houses built in this unusual and literally ground-breaking program.
Budding young architects learn to build houses from the ground up. And when they've gone from a hole in the ground to a completed house, they turn over the keys to someone who really needs it.
Their most recent projects are providing homes for Navajo families. They use building materials such as straw, rocks and dirt to save energy. And they develop designs based on local traditions.
By actually building the homes, aspriing architects learn what it takes to turn their designs into reality.
Prof. Hank Louis, University of Utah College of Architecture: "What kind of struggle contractors go through. I mean, we're also trying to teach respect for contractors and respect for the trades."
Prof. Hank Louis/ University of Utah College of Architecture: "We hand-dig the footings, mix all the concrete ourselves. Everybody's swinging a hammer. Often they've never swung a hammer before."
"We try to understand the culture and how entries are focues on the east and how the circle of life is a clockwise progression through the hogan and through the house."
The students also built a home in Salt Lake a couple of year ago for a family of Tibetan immigrants. When spring semester rolls around, a new crop of students is expected to set up shop again in Southeastern Utah.
