The approach that we are proposing integrates ideas from the existing housing programs with innovative techniques from a Kansas State University fifth-year architecture studio. In the North Central and Northwest Kansas area, there are currently no architecture firms focused on rural housing. Our plan includes someone skilled in architecture and oversight of rural buildings. The plan also includes helping to get her licensed in architecture to start a firm that serves our rural area for the long run. The proposed houses will be built with a prefabricated panel system which can be built by a team in an estimated two weeks, delivered onsite and constructed into a house in three days. The panels are constructed to the highest energy efficient standards, to help control utility costs after a family moves in. The panels can be constructed off site in a climate-controlled shop and then transported to the site on a trailer, enabling the bulk of construction to happen year-round. The finishes are added, through contractor work, after the house is put into place. This method was chosen because of its ease of replication, its ability to be adapted, its ability to address housing needs quickly, its potential to use local contractors, and its favorable cost.
Our team has over fifteen years in studying rural housing problems and we have hired a Rural Architecture Lead who comes to the project with a master’s degree in Architecture and multiple years of rural housing experience. We are proposing the establishment of a housing non-profit, Rural Forward, that can supplement rural housing, which is needed to make and manage projects’ cash flow. This non-profit will help further address rural building issues and assist in the development and construction of new housing. Currently there is a gap in the fund for and the appraised value of rural housing. This non-profit organization will seek grants to supplement the process and help rural housing make better financial sense. It is backed by JenRus Freelance, a rural by choice organization that has been working toward solutions in this realm for the last fifteen years, and our Rural Architecture Lead who has hands-on experience in panel-built housing.
The North Central Kansas Regional Planning Commission (Regional Planning) was established in 1972 and serves a core area of twelve counties in Central Kansas. The organization also serves the North Central and Northwest forty-one Counties in household weatherization and the entire State of Kansas as a fiscal agent for Regional Homeland Security Councils. Regional Planning is staffed by twenty-one people and is acting as a fiscal/support partner in this project with JenRus Freelance’s additional two staff. The organization has been administering government grants, monitoring timelines, reporting, and budgeting since 1972.
Harley Schuster
Rural Architect Lead
Our Rural Architecture Lead, Harley Schuster, came to us with a master’s degree in Architecture from Kansas State University. She participated in the Net Positive Studio which studied, designed, planned, and built rural housing in St. John and Ogden, Kansas. Through this work, her studio won the prestigious Kremer Prize, which is awarded for outstanding collaborative design achievements by students in the final semester of the Professional Master of Architecture Program. Throughout her time at K-State, she developed an interest in the rural development of workforce housing and a focus on adaptive reuse projects for downtown revitalization.
Harley grew up in rural North Central/Northwest Kansas and has chosen to come back to the area to amplify her impact as a professional. She was a former Dane G. Hansen intern for Republic County Economic Development where she studied housing issues and proposed housing designs for rural housing. She previously worked at HTK Architecture in Topeka, Kansas.
Jenny Russell
Housing Non-Profit Founder
Serving as Coordinator on Kansas Health Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) grants over the last five years, Jenny Russell specifically worked in community placemaking for BCBS efforts and in health equity for the KS Health Foundation. She worked in placemaking for additional years, as Jenny has served in rural economic development for over fifteen years in Republic and Jewell Counties. During this time, she has studied the rural housing problem, conducted research, completed surveys, tested different ideas and strived to find solutions to this issue. She has supervised and led three different architecture interns in her rural spaces over the last four years. This work included the implementation of Land Banks in multiple communities, downtown adaptive reuse, Housing Assessment Tools, and housing development programs/conversations. She has served on the national effort for the Rural Economic Development Philanthropy Innovators Network (REPIN) through the Aspen Institute in Washington D.C., the Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center (NWKEICI) board and helped to establish the Mankato Land Bank