The Chronicle's View: Kunga House Is Great Lesson

The housewarming of the Kunga House was the perfect ending to a story filled with hard work, determination and perseverance.

The Kungas, an immigrant family from Tibet, have suffered the hardships of packing up and leaving their home, only to come to the United States and have the family matriarch, Phurbu, lose the use of her legs in a car accident.

When that happened, the family was swamped with medical bills, but thanks to Intermountain Health Care, LDS Hospital and Parsons Behle & Latimer law firm, the family was able to pay them all.

However, the tiny apartment the family lived in was not wheelchair friendly, and required Thupten, Phurbu's husband, to carry her from room to room.

But again, the community came together, and with the help of the Community Development Corporation, Salt Lake City Corporation and the U, the time and money was gathered to build a house for the family.

U architecture graduate student Rui Morals drew up the original designs for the house, which is the only straw-bale house in the Valley.

The design of the house caters to the needs of the family, with wheelchair access to every room, a wheelchair-friendly garden and a Buddhist meditation room.

Those from the U and the Salt Lake community deserve the highest praise for dedicating themselves to helping this family who was in such dire need.

Those involved on the U side need to be commended. Assistant visiting professor of architecture Hank Louis and licensed contractor Dennis Caulfield have created a project for U architecture students that is praiseworthy.

Not only have these two allowed students to use their construction and architecture knowledge, but they have instilled the power of service into these students-truly an invaluable lesson.

Louis plans to help build low-income housing for the Navajo nation in Bluff, Utah, and, with his and his students' hard work, this project could turn into a wonderful U legacy.

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