Learning to build isn’t ‘just roses’

Building a house from scratch isn’t easy.

It takes determination, sweat and even blood — especially when the hammer misses. Combine that with grumblings of criticism from the local neighborhood and the constant threat of crime, and you have one monumental task on your hands.

Casey Roccanova, a 22-year-old from Huntington Beach, knows what it’s like to go through all of these things. She even had her purse stolen in the process.

“It wasn’t all just roses,” she said.

Roccanova, a student at Tulane’s School of Architecture in New Orleans, was one of eight students featured on “Architecture School,” a Sundance Channel reality show. The show, which premieres 9 p.m. Wednesday, follows a group of architecture students as they design prototypes and eventually construct a house in an urban neighborhood of New Orleans.

Though the Huntington Beach native had to brave grueling hours of work — among them designing, doing construction work and going out to local companies to ask for supplies — she was positive about the real-life experience she got along the way. Most architecture students don’t get the chance to build a house from the ground up, after all.

“A lot of architects don’t know how to build, how structures go together because they’ve never had that training,” she said. “You [get to] do the projects yourself, you learn what worked on the last project and what didn’t and what you can change.

“I learned a lot during the show,” she continued. “Not only the skills with power tools and building and everything. But just about perseverance and finding strength and leading your group. There’s no way any one person could be the star.”

Byron Mouton, an architecture professor at Tulane and director of the university’s URBANbuild program, the program the kids were working with, commented on the element of teamwork that the show brought out in his students.

“In a nutshell, I think the most important thing they learned is…how to hold colleagues accountable — with respect and diplomacy,” he said. “Simply, they learned the attributes of teamwork.”

As for Casey, Mouton said she was able to contribute through her upbeat attitude.

“She’s always the optimist,” he said. “Even in the face of setback.”

Being on camera also brought an interesting dynamic to the table, something which Roccanova didn’t mind.

“It was pretty cool, I’m not gonna lie,” she said. “There were a couple of us who were kind of nervous about it. As the show wore on, we got really comfortable being filmed and taped. It becomes easy. Once you’re on you kind of just let that melt away.”

As a whole, the experience was one that the 22-year-old will not forget. Roccanova, now working as a design intern in Glendale, said her recent foray into the world of architecture has only strengthened her passion for the profession.

“The program made me a stronger designer and a stronger person,” she said.