Under the direction of Associate Architecture Professor Frank Fantauzzi, 14 graduate students and 16 senior studio students have been working to turn a dilapidated house into a creative and up-to-code home.
"I looked at several vacant buildings in the city of Buffalo that we had the possibility of working with," Fantuazzi said. "We selected this one because it had all the right qualities in terms of size, in terms of the amount of time around it. We like the location of it."
The house - on South Putman Street in downtown Buffalo - was going to be demolished but the owners, Dennetta Stikkel and her mother Diana Stikkel, were able to save the building with the agreement that the UB students would bring it up to code.
"Our commitment to the owner was that we were going to stabilize the building," Fantuazzi said. "It had all kinds of structural problems before as far as the slope, parts of the roof had collapsed."
The project began in mid-January. Students took measurements and made drawings of what they hoped to do. This time was also spent to clear the inside of the house so that they could get a better look at the space.
"We've made additional windows for much for light and ventilation, so now the interior space is much more modern and much more contemporary," Fantauzzi said.
"It's a great experience to be part of," said James Teese, a graduate architecture student on the team working on the renovations. "It's much larger than something an individual could ever complete in a semester."
Building materials, including the concrete used, were donated. Local plumbers and welders helped out as well, but students complete the remainder of the work. Senior studio students have been working part-time, whereas the graduate students are working about 40 hours a week.
"It is a huge commitment," Fantauzzi said. "Students spend their entire weekends here. They spend three or four days a week here during studio time. I'm here seven days a week."
Besides bringing it up to code, the students are making a creative update to the front of the building.
"What we plan to do is to take the fa?\0xA4ade, cut it away from the building, which we've already done, and eventually rotate it sideways, and then re-attach it to the building," Fantauzzi said. "By rotating the fa?\0xA4ade, we open up the attic to light and we also open a new entrance on the side of the building."
After the students are finished, the owner can move into the house, but other work will still need to be done. Many of the students currently involved plan on checking in to see how the house is doing; some have already volunteered to help the owners with future needs.
Fantuazzi hopes that this project will be noticed by homeowners nearby and promote renovations to their houses.
"It's our intention to capture the imagination of the public," Fantuazzi said. "By doing something interesting with this house, it sort of involves everybody else because they can begin to imagine what could be done with their houses."
The students are having a house opening to show their completed work on Saturday, May 5 from noon to 8 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
