In 2002, Alabama architecture students stacked 72,000 worn carpet tiles into the walls of a family home

A house in Alabama contains walls adorned with 72,000 individual stacked tiles held in compression by a heavy wooden-ring beam. Belonging to the Harris family, the abode contains a bedroom above and a tornado shelter below. The minds behind the idea trace back to Rural Studio, an off-campus design-build program, rooted in Hale County and part of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture of Auburn University, according to the studio's website.Known as the Lucy Carpet House, it was constructed in 2002 by a team of six students developing a concept assigned by the studio co-founder Sambo Mockbee. The project was a charity house for Lucy and Anderson Harris and their children. It was funded by Interface Carpet. The company donated $30,000, as well as 72,000 pounds of post-consumer carpet tiles. The tiles were held in storage for 7 years to ensure they no longer off-gassed.By creating a system of stacked carpet tiles to make the walls of the house, they were able to conserve enough of the budget to build Lucy the only thing she asked for: a place to pray. For this, Lucy’s bedroom is a sculptural tower, open only to the sky. As she lies in her bed, Lucy can look up ...