Assistant Professor Sam Schuermann received a Mellowes Graduate Research Award for her research proposal “Model Homes.” This project aims to explicitly relate gender, labor, Taylorism, and architectural form through the study of a unique typology—practice homes—built on US college campuses during the early 20th century by Home Economics departments, where students lived and learned home management curriculum in community.

The research project, supported by the Mellowes, aims to create a comprehensive survey of these model homes via architectural drawing and models, explicitly relating gender, labor, Taylorism, and architectural form. Who designed these models homes? How was square footage, layout, and decor decided? This research will utilize governmental documents such as the Morrill Act of 1862, the Smith Lever Act of 1914, and Hughes Act of 1917, among others, to understand the influence and funding of the Department of the Interior on these model homes.