Volland, Kansas, USA
David Dowell of El Dorado has designed and modernized a 1930s ready-to-build kit house, rehabilitating it from a generic and common bungalow into a very specific and purposeful new artist studio and accommodation space for The Volland Foundation.
The project has recently been awarded a 2022 American Architecture Award Honorable Mention, by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The Volland House No. 1 started its life as “The Edison,” and it is likely that the house was delivered in the 30s to Volland, KS on a train and assembled in its current position.
The Edison was a two-bedroom bungalow, described in the Van-Tine catalog as a “snug little home, compact, easily heated, and with a room arrangement that is a wonderful space utilizer.”
It was designed to be built anywhere and by anyone, regardless of local site conditions, limitations or qualities.
Customizing the home is both careful and complicated requiring attention to detail and subtle moves that expound upon the home’s original features.
One such move is a custom-designed and fabricated window box that replaced the two smaller windows on the south elevation, framing the view toward The Volland General Store.
Project: Volland House No. 1
Architects: El Dorado
Lead Architect: David Dowell
General Contractor: Hendricks Construction, Inc.
Client: Volland Foundation
Photographer: Mike Sinclair
