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Solar Decathlon
Oct. 2nd, 2011 10:36 pmI went to the Solar Decathlon today. It was the last day, and it was cold and wet. I didn't get to see all the houses -- and Hawaii's entry didn't get here at all -- but the ones I did see were fascinating.
I think the one I liked best was from Middlebury College. All of the houses are specifically designed to be practical in their own latitude. Wherever possible, they also take advantage of local supplies and building techniques. In Middlebury's case, that included slate quarried not too far from their campus. They angled the windows so that at latitude 40, the sun would hit the slate in the kitchen and the bathroom in the winter time, warming the floor, but would miss it in the summer to help keep the interior cooler.
The only house I didn't like was the one entered by China. All the others smelled of wood, but theirs smelled chemical and whatever good design features it may have had were just subsumed in the scent.
The house designed by the Belgians (Universiteit Gent) was a flat pack. The interior looked more unfinished than I would have liked, but, unlike some of the others, it was easy to see how it was put together and how it could be expanded for different family needs.
The CCNY house was intended to go on a rooftop and was very much a city dwelling intended for a maximum of two people. It would be a great first apartment, and, if used as intended, would have tremendous views. They used a great deal of bamboo laminate, which I think made it feel less integrated with its environment. Both of the Florida teams, like Middlebury, used historic design features and adapted local products/resources into the features of the space.
The Parsons School of Design house will stay in DC. It was built with Habitat for Humanity, and they will be adding another unit to it so that it will be a duplex not far from where I work. I wish all or at least most of the houses could work that way. The Team Massachusetts house, which was also very nice, has been sold to a family in Maine.
The house that surprised me the most was the one from OSU. From the model that I saw last year at the National Building Museum and the pictures, I hadn't expected to like it much. The exterior was not at all prepossessing (although the slightly lavender cast to the glass was intriguing), but the interior and the porch area, which included a small pond for stormwater reclamation to be used for grey water areas (like flushing the toilets), were well thought out and absolutely lovely. It was one of only four houses (Middlebury, Parsons, and Florida International's Perform(D)ance being the others) that I could imagine myself living in long term.
I missed three of the big winners because the lines were huge to get into them. I may have a chance to see the one designed by University of Maryland (which won the competition) sometime soon. It's supposed to go back to the campus at some point. It's exterior was really beautiful and it was the only one to plant its green roof. The Appalachian State design won the People's Choice, and I regret that its line was so long because it was one that I thought wasted a great deal of its space in the floor plans, so its winning surprised me.
I think the one I liked best was from Middlebury College. All of the houses are specifically designed to be practical in their own latitude. Wherever possible, they also take advantage of local supplies and building techniques. In Middlebury's case, that included slate quarried not too far from their campus. They angled the windows so that at latitude 40, the sun would hit the slate in the kitchen and the bathroom in the winter time, warming the floor, but would miss it in the summer to help keep the interior cooler.
The only house I didn't like was the one entered by China. All the others smelled of wood, but theirs smelled chemical and whatever good design features it may have had were just subsumed in the scent.
The house designed by the Belgians (Universiteit Gent) was a flat pack. The interior looked more unfinished than I would have liked, but, unlike some of the others, it was easy to see how it was put together and how it could be expanded for different family needs.
The CCNY house was intended to go on a rooftop and was very much a city dwelling intended for a maximum of two people. It would be a great first apartment, and, if used as intended, would have tremendous views. They used a great deal of bamboo laminate, which I think made it feel less integrated with its environment. Both of the Florida teams, like Middlebury, used historic design features and adapted local products/resources into the features of the space.
The Parsons School of Design house will stay in DC. It was built with Habitat for Humanity, and they will be adding another unit to it so that it will be a duplex not far from where I work. I wish all or at least most of the houses could work that way. The Team Massachusetts house, which was also very nice, has been sold to a family in Maine.
The house that surprised me the most was the one from OSU. From the model that I saw last year at the National Building Museum and the pictures, I hadn't expected to like it much. The exterior was not at all prepossessing (although the slightly lavender cast to the glass was intriguing), but the interior and the porch area, which included a small pond for stormwater reclamation to be used for grey water areas (like flushing the toilets), were well thought out and absolutely lovely. It was one of only four houses (Middlebury, Parsons, and Florida International's Perform(D)ance being the others) that I could imagine myself living in long term.
I missed three of the big winners because the lines were huge to get into them. I may have a chance to see the one designed by University of Maryland (which won the competition) sometime soon. It's supposed to go back to the campus at some point. It's exterior was really beautiful and it was the only one to plant its green roof. The Appalachian State design won the People's Choice, and I regret that its line was so long because it was one that I thought wasted a great deal of its space in the floor plans, so its winning surprised me.
