Book Excerpts

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"In the RISD critique session, as she and partner Elliott Olson explained their blueprints, the attention to detail was impresive. Using corrigated tin walls and local materials that could easily be gathered, with a construction model simple enough to be built by amateurs, the structure made use of movable walls to provide maximum versatility, had a warped tin roof that collected rainwater and poured it into containers, and paid strict attention to matters of ventilation (in the old kitcen that this was replacing, Sussman mentioned, "people had actually died" from excessive heat and lack of air)."

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"The whole thing was designed to be built for somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000, which impressed Sussman's professor Liliane Wong. "It takes advantage of every sngle economy possibe," she commented."

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"Sussman mentioned the "human camraderie" involved in such projects, but she said the overriding appeal can be boiled down to a basic sense of responsibility: "The idea is simple," she says."If you can help, do it."