I have been working in rural Economic Development for over fifteen years. The longer that I have been around, the more that I realize how the lack of affordable housing and day care affect the success (or lack there of) of rural areas.

When the opportunity arose for the communities that we serve to have internships through the Dane G. Hansen Foundation internship program, we jumped at the opportunity to bring in architecture interns to help us address the problems that we were facing as rural communities in both rural housing and the adaptive reuse of downtown buildings.

We had some great interns over the years, but when it came to trying to hire one out of the Master’s of Architecture programs, we quickly found out that there wasn’t a clear path to rural architecture in most major universities. There was also the question of the person that was the right fit for our rural area. Rural is not lesser than urban, but it is different. For someone to be happy in rural, they have to have at least a basic understanding of rural culture and an appreciation of rural opportunities.

When we met Harley, we found out that she was not only a great architect, but she was from a rural area and understood inherently what architectural qualities would translate to rural and what rural entities could afford. We took pride in helping a rural architect come home and she equally took pride in making an impact in our area. What a wonderful pairing and a wonderful possible solution to the rural issues we face.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about our rural architecture endeavor through Rural Forward and helping Harley to build her new firm North 40 Architecture. Thank you for using Harley as your architect. You are helping to make our dreams come true and you are making a difference in rural areas, which are so badly in need of architecture, of a re-imagination of spaces, of a development of sufficient housing, and of an adaptive reuse/preservation of rural architecture. In choosing us, you are helping to make our dreams come true. – Jenny Russell, Rural Forward