Roth Trailhead


Roth Trailhead
The University of Kansas Field Station invited the Dirt Works Studio to design and build a new trailhead on the McColl Nature Reserve in honor of Stan and Janet Roth, a beloved Lawrence couple. The Roth Trailhead serves as a gateway into the Field Station, an ode to the landscape in which it rests, a gathering place for nature lovers, and an artifact that tells the land's tale and reveals its great history recorded beneath. The design of the Roth Trailhead concentrates on a few basic tectonic elements, including a punctuated rammed earth wall proportioned on the Fibonacci sequence; a path guiding visitors along the wall, a sun-shading canopy hovering atop the wall, and an outdoor classroom that opens onto the prairie beyond.
Year: 2012
Location: Lawrence, Kansas
Course: Arch 509 Designbuild Studio
Instructor: Chad Kraus (Dirt Works Studio)

Students: Patrick Bayer, Katie Caufield, Xiaorui Chen, Hannah Dale, Pamela Gieseke, Christina Henning, Mark Linenberger, Matt  Livingston, Ben Peek, David Versteeg

Partner/Client: Kansas Biological Survey

Structural Engineer: Apex Engineers

Vendors: Westar Energy Green Team, Hamm Quarry, Monarch Cement Company, RamSeal

Awards: Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture ​Designbuild Award, Prairie Earth (Field Station Gateway + Roth Trailhead); American Architects 50 x 50 Building of the Week; Monsters of Design Award - Best in Show, AIA Kansas City Young Architects Forum; American Institute of Architects Kansas Design Honor Award