Jeff Williamson

Karen and Jeff Williamson were pretty hot when the two architecture students began their search last August to move from their historic apartment building in Maplehurst.
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"We had to think, what are they (the sellers) going to get if the house is condemned," Jeff Williamson said."They'd get about $10,000.After our initial offer, the seller wouldn't call us, or even return calls to his realtor."And while the seller was probably insulted by the first offer, persistence paid off and they got a contract on the house November 19 and closed January 15. "The roof had to be done within 30 days and then they would reappraise the house.They even held 150 percent of the roof estimate in escrow, it was in such bad shape," Jeff said.
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Jeff, a designer/intern at Hutchins Associates Architects, has a Bachelors of Architecture from UT. Growing up in southwest Virginia, he and his brothers were into building at an early age."We probably built 50 tree houses on our acreage.Southwest Virginia doesn't have a nice stock of older houses, it's more of a coal mining area."But Jeff locked in his architectural fix by visiting friends at the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson's architectural mecca. "I had a friend who was lucky enough to have a room on the mall at UVA," Jeff said.But both Karen and Jeff chose UT's School of Architecture, ranked in the top 20 of 80 accredited architectural schools in the country.As they planned the restoration of their new house, Jeff bought Karen a copy of "Houses By Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company" for Christmas.
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"Our first priority is to get in the house," Jeff said."We want to finish the kitchen, master bath, and bedroom." To do this, they're putting in all new electric and plumbing, drywall, and fixtures.Sounds ambitious, but being in the field, they have many of the skills necessary to do the work themselves. And while just out of school, Jeff, in fact, has already designed and built a house."I was part of a group of students involved in Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (www.cneinc.org).David Fox, an associate professor at the UT School of Architecture, has a program similar to Rural Studio at Auburn," Jeff said. Fox created the UT College of Architecture Studio in Sustainability (SIS) to provide fourth-year architecture students with the opportunity to research, design and build energy-efficient houses for low-income home owners.After working in design teams for two semesters, students spend the summer building their houses, living and interacting with people in areas targeted for revitalization by the City of Chattanooga.As part of the program, architecture students like Jeff participate in a competition to design affordable low-income housing that cost the same as Habitat for Humanity houses, but express individuality."It's sustainable design for those who can't afford it," said Jeff.
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"These are one of a kind custom homes for low-income people that express good design and contribute to this sense of place," Jeff said.So why are UTK architecture students doing sustainable design projects in Chattanooga, and not in Knoxville?"Knoxville wouldn't do it," said Jeff."That's why David does it in Chattanooga."So what are the biggest issues facing Knoxville as far as rebuilding community and creating a sense of place?Jeff: "Money.
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"We need to promote the idea of people reclaiming these older neighborhoods (individually)-not letting buildings like Jefferson Commons happen all over Fort Sanders," Jeff said.