Ren Hutt and Will Cook
BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 20, 2007 – Lynchburg natives and Virginia Tech juniors in the Department of Building Construction, Ren Hutt and Will Cook recently completed work on a renovation project led by Rebuilding Together, a Lynchburg-based organization that repairs and restores homes for low-income families.
Rebuilding Together, with Hutt and Cook, provided some much-needed structural work for free to the Anne Bethel Spencer House at 1313 Pierce Street, a 1903 structure that was home to the Harlem Renaissance poet.
Bob Luse, a Lynchburg general contractor, and the students performed a highly customized renovation to maintain the historic integrity of the house. Among the renovations were improving the structural stability of the rear load-bearing wall, rebuilding a second-floor window, and repairing and upgrading electrical wiring. Hutt and Cook received credit for their role in the renovation through an independent study class.
The Department of Building Construction is within the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, which is a cross-college school in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering.
The College of Architecture and Urban Studies is one of the largest of its type in the nation. The college is composed of three schools and the Department of Art and Art History, part of the multi-college School of the Arts. The School of Architecture + Design includes programs in architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture. The School of Public and International Affairs includes programs in urban affairs and planning, public administration and policy, and government and international affairs. The Myers-Lawson School of Construction, a joint school of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering, includes programs in building construction and construction management. The college enrolls more than 2,000 students offering 25 degrees taught by 160 faculty members.