Alex drives me around to show me the work of the Rural Studio. The early Rural Studio often used heterogeneous materials. This resulted in experimental architectures made of hay bales, road signs, cardboard, or car windows. The materiality of the communal buildings is still special. The private housing structures are approached in a more pragmatic way nowadays.

As a kid Joe was afraid of the barn. The boys threw stones at it. Today he's working in the library next door. Until he started, he had no idea the barn was famous.