This presentation offers an overview of a graduate architecture studio course taught at Montana State University in Spring 2025, which investigated alternative building materials and resilient strategies through the design of a “nature hut” in eastern Montana.

The studio focused on the generative potentials of material logics, environmental contingencies, and architectural improvisation. Students engaged with found materials and experimental forms to design nature huts and artist residencies situated in the Montana wilderness. The studio embraced both traditional and emerging technologies, drawing on insights from art practice, structural engineering, and related disciplines to integrate architecture more deeply with its immediate environment.

Through intensive model-making and material analysis, the course encouraged students to develop architectural frameworks rooted in robust conceptions of nature—questioning assumptions about geometric determinacy and environmental stability in design and construction. Student proposals were shared with leadership from the American Prairie Reserve and the U.S. Hut Alliance, and several are under consideration for future construction.

At the heart of the studio was an ambition to develop modes of building in which architecture is perceived not merely as an object “in” nature, but as an object “of” nature. Student projects include:

• a hut constructed from adobe and materials found within the site’s immediate surroundings

• a structure built from repurposed rawhide, salvaged from the meat industry

• and modular wooden huts designed for affordability, ease of construction, and disassembly

The format of the presentation includes an introduction by Julian Harake, student presentations of their individual proposals, and time for audience questions and comments.

AUA CEU

This presentation showcases graduate student proposals from Montana State University that explore alternative building materials and resilient design strategies through the lens of a “Primitive Hut” in eastern Montana. Participants will learn how unconventional materials and site-responsive methods can address health, safety, and welfare while integrating architecture more deeply with natural systems.

Prerequisite Knowledge:
None Required

HSW Justification:
This course addresses Health, Safety, and Welfare by examining how alternative and found materials—such as adobe, rawhide, and timber—can be used responsibly in architectural design. The session highlights how material performance, environmental contingencies, and construction methods impact occupant health (air quality, thermal comfort, non-toxic finishes), public safety (fire resistance, structural integrity, durability), and welfare (affordability, adaptability, ecological resilience). By engaging with experimental design approaches rooted in natural systems, participants will gain insights into creating buildings that enhance human well-being while minimizing environmental risks

Learning Objective 1:
Assess how adobe, rawhide, timber, and other unconventional materials perform in terms of durability, toxicity, fire safety, and occupant comfort.

Learning Objective 2:
Understand how material selection and site-responsive construction techniques can address climate, weather extremes, and ecological conditions to enhance safety and sustainability.

Learning Objective 3:
Explore how experimental forms and material improvisation can reduce environmental risks, encourage disassembly/reuse, and contribute to healthier living environments.

Learning Objective 4:
Investigate how combining traditional and emerging technologies with insights from art, engineering, and related fields can improve environmental responsiveness, structural safety, and occupant well-being.