Hotel Vermont Attracting International Attention

We were pleased to see a wonderful review of the recently opened Hotel Vermont in this past weekend's Montreal Gazette. The hotel is gaining national and international attention as more people experience this unique, independent, Very Vermont hotel.

The Montreal Gazette calls it a "woodsy and trendy" hip venue. "An artisan project from furniture to food." The author was a guest of the hotel and goes on to write: "Burlington’s first contemporary boutique property, the Hotel Vermont opened this year with a singular dedication to regional products, individual craftsmanship and eco-consciousness."

You can read the whole Montreal Gazette article online.

Hotel Vermont was also earlier previewed in Lodging Magazine, the official magazine of the American Hotel + Lodging Association.

The May 2013 issue featured a rendering of the Deluxe King guestroom, released before the hotel opened. "A Vermont Vignette" provided a sneak peak of the guestroom with its custom bed and casework furnishings, overlooking Lake Champlain.

A longer article was published on the Lodging Magazine website: Hotel Vermont Opens as Burlington's First Independent Hotel.

Making Good Homes: Beauty in Order

by Rolf Kielman

In a February blog post, Lee Grutchfield and I discussed the challenges involved in making good and affordable places to live. We’ve made some progress on this front, and we’re back to share what we’ve done to date.

The criteria, as we described it, is to design a home that is affordable, easy to build, healthy, beautiful, durable and energy efficient. We want to make these houses so they can be manufactured under controlled circumstances and then shipped in manageable parts to the building site. And we want to erect houses in 2 months rather than the 4-6 months often required for homes of modest proportion and size.

So together with Josh Chafe, our young and creative cohort, we have begun to define and execute homes that fulfill the criteria we described. Thus far we’ve been working with designs that are basically one room wide. We’ve looked at archtypes in the factory housing of Sheldon Springs, going back 25 years to work that Rolf did with Roland Batten, and we looked carefully at the houses strung along Mansfield Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. There are lessons in these houses worth studying, such as advantages in ventilation and ease of shipping attributable to building widths of one room.



We are also working on a standard system of dimensioning. This is not a new concept: witness Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian houses spread through portions of North America. Wright’s work exhibits both elegance and quiet beauty in the establishment of order and hierarchy. In this vein, we are utilizing modules of 48” increments and utilizing common window widths and room sizes to achieve this order.

In our work, we are utilizing a standard system of components applicable to homes of differing overall size. By this we mean that a single bathroom or kitchen layout can be used in a 1400 square foot house as well as one that is 1800 square feet. By using common components, we can drive down the cost and increase the efficiency.

In our sketches below we show 3 slightly different houses. They vary in size and program but have strong similarities. They exhibit options that will give home buyers discretion in how they arrange component parts. The designs can be pre-made or manufactured off site and they exhibit simple dimensioning systems that are economical and elegant. The designs run from 1400 to 2200 square feet and contain different program components for those with larger families or those who have chosen to work at home.

Our hope is to build several of these homes in a new development near Burlington. If you have suggestions, questions or comments, we would love to hear from you!

Making Good Homes: Conditions and Challenges

by Rolf Kielman

At TruexCullins we’ve spent decades contemplating the necessary requirements for good places to live. Twenty years ago we designed a series of modestly sized, affordable and energy efficient homes for a statewide competition sponsored by Housing Vermont. Now, we are picking up that banner again, developing the design for a prototypical home that meets all of the requirements and expectations of a modern-day family in an affordable and efficient package.

First, let’s define the criteria. What are our basic needs for the places where we live? The basic components of a house in Vermont include spaces to sleep, prepare and eat food, and wash ourselves and our clothes. Beyond these human necessities, we place great importance on having a comfortable place to socialize and entertain. Conversely, our homes are increasingly places where we work and study. The spaces just outside our homes are also valued, whether it’s a porch for protection from the elements or a garden within which to grow food and play. Finally, an auxiliary building such as a garage or shed is added to store vehicles and outdoor equipment. All of these components have come to be viewed as essential parts of our homes.

Second, we must come to term with the challenges we face. Externally, the need for shelter from our environment is perhaps more challenging now than it has ever been. Our climate is demanding and unpredictable, from the cold of winter to the heat and humidity of summer. Global climate change has brought an increase in extreme weather events that test the endurance of our structures, from flood to drought to the frequently returning 100-year storm. Meanwhile, the cost of fuels is accelerating, in economic costs and environmental costs. The physical land and materials with which we build our homes are also increasingly rare and expensive to come by.

We look forward to addressing these challenges over the next several months, continuing our exploration of designs for homes that sufficiently meet our needs while abundantly filling our souls. Ultimately, our goal is a product that could be acquired in any number of forms: a set of complete architectural plans for purchase at a modest cost; a set of component parts available for purchase with a manual for assembly; or even a complete home, pre-made and brought to the site ready for placement and occupancy.

In the meantime, you can expect that we will share our thoughts, present some designs, and keep you informed of our progress. We hope you enjoy this creative journey.

The Spirit of Vermont in Norwich

What qualifies as the best examples of excellent new architecture in Vermont? That was the question addressed by Donald Kreis on yesterday’s episode of the popular Commentary Series on Vermont Public Radio.

Kreis is an attorney with Vermont Law School and a regular contributor to VPR.  In this episode, Kreis praises two of this year’s recipients of the AIA VT Excellence in Architecture Design Awards, including the King Arthur Flour campus expansion in Norwich, Vermont.

TruexCullins was pleased to learn recently that the King Arthur Flour project received a Merit Award from the Vermont Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.  The jury was impressed with the arrival sequence and the creation of a communal courtyard that connects the various program elements.  Also noted was the use of materials and forms that are harmonious with the site and effective daylighting strategies.  According to the jury, “This building captures the spirit of Vermont without being too referential.”
 

We owe much credit to ORW Landscape Architects and Planners for working with us to develop this overall site and building experience.

In his Commentary on VPR, Kreis expands on this concept of place-making with a comparison to another New England town anchored by a growing retail empire: Freeport, Maine.  Unlike this and other towns that have succumbed to a mall-ification of outlets and souvenir shops, Norwich has managed to retain its classic Vermont heritage while permitting – in fact, promoting – the growth of companies like King Arthur Flour.

The new building at King Arthur is based on the concept of the classic Vermont monitor barn, but with contemporary and artful detailing.  As Kreis states, “Whenever we fail to turn a piece of Vermont into another Freeport, and build something new and graceful instead, I say it's time to break out the plaques and trophies.”

You can read (or listen to) the full Commentary at vpr.net:

http://www.vpr.net/episode/55299/kreis-aia-vermont/
 

Celebrating the work of Rolf Kielman

In the early 1970s, Rolf Kielman joined fellow classmate Terry Jacobs and designed a series of cutting-edge houses that utilized an air panel system for the collection of warm air and a rock box for thermal storage. The Sunpower homes, as they were called, adhered to the design principals of reduced size, improved thermal envelopes and effective siting and orientation. Four of these were built around Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

It is now 40 years later, and Rolf’s portfolio of projects has steadily grown to include numerous energy-positive homes, hotels and resorts that are naturally wedded to their environment, and cultural and civic buildings that galvanize communities. His work includes creatively branded workspaces, custom designed furniture and architectural follies. His urban planning projects are instantly recognizable as some of our most notable public spaces.

Please join us on Friday September 21st to celebrate this 40 year span of impressive work by Rolf Kielman. We are hosting a reception from 5 to 8pm with an exhibit of his architecture in our office on Battery Street.

If you stopped by last week during the Art Hop, you were able to catch a sneak preview of the show. Throughout the exhibit, the thoughtful and artful communication of each design is clearly evident, from beautifully drawn sketches and original watercolors to handmade wood models, including some specifically commissioned for this event.

While we may marvel at his craft, anyone who knows Rolf can attest that his “living legacy” reaches beyond just the architectural work he produces. Much of his energy today directly touches people’s lives through his work with local community organizations such as the Committee on Temporary Shelter, the King Street Youth Center, the 52 Kids Foundation, the Howard Center, and many more.

Rolf continues to be a creative designer, inspiring leader and gracious mentor for all of us at TruexCullins. And next Friday we do hope you’ll join us to recognize his talents and celebrate his 40 years (and counting!) of architecture and craft.



 

Respecting Victorian Design

This summer we are working on the interior design for the renovation of a Victorian mansion dating from 1885.  This has sparked our interest in the history of this British-born architectural style.

Most people associate Victorian design with a grand excess of ornament, an arbitrary over-abundance of decoration.  But the real story of Victorian design is much broader and deeper than most people probably realize.  Some even attribute the Victorian era with being the first chapter (or perhaps prologue) to today’s modern design.

The Victorian period is named for Queen Victoria, and coincides with her tenure from when she was crowned in 1837 until her death in 1901.  This was a time of great upheaval, as the industrial revolution brought about major changes to just about every aspect of British life.

If you watched the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics from London last week, you probably caught the tribute to the Industrial Revolution, which started in the United Kingdom and eventually spread to the rest of the world.  This was a time of remarkable inventions and engineering marvels.  Architecturally, this technological revolution was evident in structures such as the glass roof of the Crystal Palace in 1854, or the iron spire of the Eiffel Tower in 1889.

Crystal Palace, Joseph Paxton, 1854

But the speed of change during this time is best illustrated by the arrival of the steam train, which gave people the ability to suddenly travel great distances.  As people were exposed to new worlds they borrowed pieces of new and different architectural styles.  This was a period of eclectic design.  Historic styles were mixed with foreign influences, such as neoGothic, Romanesque, Japanese and Egyptian.

Trinity Church, H.H. Richardson, 1872-1877

These imported styles were used to rebel against industrialization.  With change comes resistance to change, and the resistance to the Industrial Revolution was expressed in romantic or “picturesque” design.  It is this tension between the practical and the ideal which led to some of the best examples of architecture and design of the Victorian era.

The structure that best symbolized this tension between practical, efficient engineering and the romantic ideal of picturesque design was perhaps the Brooklyn Bridge, built from 1870 to 1883.  Its arcing cables speak the language of utility:  machine-made, functional, and efficient.  The neo-Gothic brick piers speak the language of ideal beauty: hand-laid bricks forming lofty arches that evoke Old World cathedrals.

Brooklyn Bridge, John Roebling, 1883

These themes in Victorian architecture applied to all aspects of design: industrial design, furniture, graphic design …  even fashion.  Technological advances in fabrication combined with romantic notions of design in the bentwood chairs by Michael Thonet.

The Victorian curve showed up on everything from typefaces to teaspoons and women’s corsets.  Some of this still lives with us today: the classic Coca-Cola bottle came later, in 1915, but the design was based on this ideal curve from the Victorian age.

The Victorian era eventually led to the Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau, and early modern design. (evident in such pieces as the bentwood furniture of Charles and Ray Eames.)  Even today, when we pick up our iPhone, we are reminded of the marriage between technology and ideal humanist design.  And it was during the reign of a British queen over a century ago that these themes were first born.

Making Good Towns

This Wednesday, June 20, marks the beginning of the summer lecture series at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School. The series is free and open to the public at the Yestermorrow campus on Route 100 in Waitsfield, VT.

The first speaker for the summer series will be Rolf Kielman, who is presenting a talk on Making Good Towns: From Norway to Switzerland to Vermont.

Vermont's varied terrain is similar to that of Norway and Switzerland. Sloped landscapes; deep, watery cuts between hilly regions; the form of our farmsteads; these terrain characteristics have contributed to the shape of towns and villages in these regions. This lecture explores how the land has formed the architecture of buildings and public spaces and how architects and planners can advance the art of making good towns.

This Wednesday's lecture begins at 7pm. To see the entire 2012 lecture series schedule, go to: http://www.yestermorrow.org/about-us/stay-connected/lectureseries/

Or for more info, call 802-496-5545.

Hotel Vermont at the Vermont Expo

Visitors to the Vermont Business and Industry Expo last week had a chance to get a sneak preview of the interior design work we are developing for the new Hotel Vermont. We assisted the hotel with their booth at the Expo, with the arrangement of interior finishes that will grace the new boutique hotel in downtown Burlington.

The presentation of carpets, fabrics and greenery gave visitors to the Expo a sense of what the new hotel lobby and lounge will feel like. 'Stay Natural' is the tagline of the new hotel, and the interior design will deliver on this promise, with local, natural and healthy materials.

Some of our 3D renderings of the first floor lobby and lounge were also on display, along with this video from the groundbreaking ceremony featuring the owners and designers explaining the project.

The Vermont Business & Industry Expo is the region's largest business-to-business trade show and is hosted by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. An estimated 3,000 people attended the two-day show held at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington.

Coming Events: Architecture and Design 2012

There are some exciting events coming up for our architecture and design community in Burlington and beyond. Here's a look ahead to some of them:

May 10: PKN-BTV Vol. 7
The next PechaKucha event is this Thursday at the Fleming Museum. If you've been to one of these before, you know that it is a fun, energetic night of wildly divergent and interesting presentations. This is volume 7 of the Burlington event, with another great line-up planned.

For the uninitiated, here's the official scoop: PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation ("chit chat"), it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

More info at:  http://pecha-kucha.org/night/burlington-vt/

May 24: Bennington College Campus Tour
Our local AIA branches in Vermont, New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts are presenting an afternoon of presentations and tours at one of the country's highest rated colleges in terms of building and campus design.  Building tours on the Bennington College campus include projects by Tod Williams + Billie Tsien, Robertson Ward, Kyu Sung Woo, and Edward Larrabee Barnes.

The event occurs from 3:30 to 7:45pm and is good for 3 AIA HSW SD learning units. To register, visit: http://aiavtnhwm.eventbrite.com/  For more details, click to enlarge the poster below:

October 19-21: AIA New England Conference & Design Awards
Finally, we have a look forward to this fall's big event for AIA Vermont: the AIA New England Conference & Design Awards Program on Oct. 19-21, 2012 at the Hilton Hotel & Conference Center in Burlington. For us Burlingtonians, we are not only looking forward to the great workshops, lectures, and tours planned, but also to the opportunity to show off our award-winning city to our friends from across New England.

This will be the height of the fall foliage season in Vermont, so if you're planning on attending from out of state, make your hotel reservations now and lock in the conference rate.

For more details, visit: http://www.aiavt.org/aiane_conf/

Three Perfect Tables for the Home

Are you looking for the perfect table? In the Perspectives column of the latest issue of New England Home magazine, Kim Deetjen was asked to share her recommendations for tables in three different rooms of the house: the entry, dining room and living room.

For the entry table and coffee table, Kim picked two pieces by Maxine Snider that have classic detailing with a slight modern or whimsical touch.

For the dining room, Kim picked a round table by the Martin Group with pie-shaped veneers and ebonized inlays. This table expands concentrically, with leaves that attach to the perimeter, so the table is just as beautiful when you need to expand your surface to accommodate the extra guests at your holiday meal.

Read more in the March/April 2012 issue of New England Home, or visit them on their website. The Perspectives column can be found under "Designer Picks" in the Art & Style section.

Working Fireplaces

Yesterday we looked at some of our favorite fireplaces from a few of our recent residential projects. At this time of year, we are reminded that a fireplace can be both the physical and emotional center of a home, providing warmth for the building and the soul.

But our fireplace designs show up in our other studios as well: workplace, education and resort projects. 

You wouldn't normally expect to see a large custom fireplace in an office space, but at many of the workspaces we've designed, you would see just that. The fireplace provides an opportunity to set a company apart from the rest. It can reinforce a brand identity that – especially in Vermont - may be focused on a natural, outdoor lifestyle. Or it may simply be a way to promote more social interaction, both internally among employees but also with customers and guests.

At the Burton headquarters here in Burlington, a curved stone fireplace with an integrated tall stack of firewood is the dominant feature in the main entrance lobby, wrapping the entire side of the room. This is what guests experience when they first enter the space. The fireplace instantly sets the mood for this edgy company that fully celebrates winter.

Our biggest custom fireplace project in recent history is probably the Lake Placid Lodge. The original lodge was built in 1882 and was destroyed (ironically, by fire) in 2005. TruexCullins designed a new lodge in a style true to the original Adirondack heritage. There are 35 guest suites in the main Inn, each one with a unique stone fireplace that adds to the rustic elegance and mountain feel. Exterior fireplaces also occupy spaces around the building, at sitting areas that overlook the Lake, such as this one:

Notice the impressive stonework, all laid by hand. We were very pleased with the work of the local craftspeople on the job. Each of the fireplaces were finished with uniquely designed stone surrounds, mantles and hearths. Our design drawings –also individually crafted by hand – communicated this design intent to the builders in fairly specific detail.

The last project we want to share is a completely different aesthetic than the rustic Adirondack feel of the Lake Placid Lodge. Our Interiors department designed these fireplaces for the Portland Harbor Hotel in a soothing contemporary style befitting this oceanside property.

Six new suites were added to the hotel in a four-story contemporary wing served by a private elevator. In the Executive King Suite, the room is split into separate sitting and sleeping zones with a see-thru double-sided glass fireplace. This is a gas fireplace by Town and Country, with the "Tranquility Burner" of river rocks and white sand for a very clean and contemporary look. The fireplace is built into a custom wood casepiece of golden walnut wood paneling.

Downstairs, the in-house restaurant Eve's on the Garden was completely reconfigured to improve service for all three meals of the day. Our design for the new dining room included the addition of another new fireplace in the center of the space. This is also a double-sided, see-thru unit, facing the entrance to the restaurant, with the main bar behind. Similar wood paneling was used at the surround, but with more traditional detailing and a nod to the nautical spirit of the Portland coast. Here, the surround is tiled with a tumbled mosaic Mexican limestone, and a replica Schooner is perched on the mantle to complete the look.

A proper fireplace does more than just provide heat. It is often the physical and indeed, spiritual center of the home (or business). A warm fire brings people together, but can also be a vehicle for personal reflection. A well-designed fireplace provides comfort, therapy and peace.

Collaboration in the Workplace

The biggest buzzword in workplace design these days is collaboration.  And for good reason: the nature of the workplace is changing, with an increased focus on teamwork and informal interaction.

There are many factors driving this change. Younger Gen X and Gen Y workers tend to be more social, and more comfortable working in groups. Advancements in technology have eliminated some of the traditional constraints of space use, such as being tethered to a desk. And organizations everywhere are dealing with an economy that begs for a more productive use of real estate.

Collaboration is not the same thing as attending a formal meeting. The kind of workplace collaboration that we are talking about is the spontaneous, informal interaction that occurs between coworkers at unplanned moments. There is an increased recognition that the most creative problem-solving does not occur by an individual behind closed doors, but rather by a group effort of people putting their heads together.

Private space for concentrated work is still needed, but the traditional office and meeting room are increasingly being supplemented by more flexible, open spaces that allow for spontaneous collaboration.

Here are three examples from some recent projects of ours that we designed to facilitate collaboration in the workplace. For these examples, we will look at three different space types: an open office area; an employee cafeteria; and a pair of nontraditional meeting rooms.

AN ORGANIC PLAN

The conventional office cubicle is not very conducive to group work. Partitions are too high for interacting with your neighbor in any meaningful way, and the repetitive rows of desks and panels stifle individuality and creativity.

At the Institute for Sustainable Communities, we designed a workplace environment that breaks out of the “cubicles” box and promotes collaboration through the creation of “in-between” spaces. (click to enlarge)

The ISC is a global non-profit organization that helps communities around the world address environmental, economic and social challenges. At their headquarters in Montpelier, we designed an office landscape using new and reused components in a seemingly random pattern. Unlike a conventional plan, where rows of workstations mean everyone sits facing the same direction, at the ISC the desks are arranged so that each workstation is spatially unique. 

This layout accomplishes a few things. By breaking the line of sight and giving each person a unique perspective, a certain sense of privacy is achieved, without having to resort to 60” high panels.

The scattered layout also creates plenty of “in-between” spaces that welcome collaboration. Here, it is not necessary to walk into someone’s personal space to speak with them. And conversely, the spaces in-between do not feel like a regular hallway that says “keep walking”. The in-between spaces are welcoming to someone who’d like to pull up a chair or simply ask a question.

The ISC is a non-profit organization, so maximizing their space was very important. According to conventional logic, any plan that varies from a regular grid of cubicles will automatically be less efficient. This plan proves that this need not be the case. The “irregular” layout here actually provided more seating than what they previously had. This is partly due to a more efficient use of circulation space. By blurring the edges around the workstations, we were able to “steal” the adjoining circulation space and claim it for dedicated workspace.

I also love how organic this plan seems, a fitting attribute for a group that at its most basic level is helping communities grow. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Collaboration doesn’t have to occur at your desk or in a meeting room. In fact, the interactions that often yield the most creative results are those that happen unexpectedly, when two or more people exchange ideas while in a social setting such as a café or cafeteria.

It can also be most beneficial when people collaborate with others outside of their own working group. Coming together with people from different areas of a company can lead to a more complete and thought-out solution to a problem. (We see this also in educational institutions with the rise of interdisciplinary studies.)

TruexCullins recently served as the design architects for the new company headquarters of the Sabra Dipping Company. Their new LEED Silver-certified headquarters in Colonial Heights, Virginia employs 260 people in administration, research and development, and manufacturing. The facility includes office space, manufacturing and packaging, and a kitchen lab where they test new flavors of hummus, salsa, and dips.

So where is the one place that everyone can come together, regardless of whether they work in the offices, the labs, or on the factory floor? The company cafeteria.

The Sabra cafeteria is designed to be welcoming. There is no door. The layout of the corridor and the design of the materials on the floor and walls naturally lead you in to the space.

In fact, the cafeteria beckons you as soon as you enter the building. When entering the front reception area, guests and employees are met with a filtered view into the café through a glass display wall. These shelves are lined with canisters of colorful ingredients that are used in Sabra products.

Once inside the cafeteria, a variety of seating options allow for different kinds of casual meetings. The space is flooded with natural light, and the colors and forms make this a lively, engaging space. The curves inscribed into the marmoleum floor are a reference to the curves in the Sabra logo, reinforcing the company’s brand.

A curved bar with seating is located at the head of the room, which doubles as a presentation counter. This was designed to accommodate cooking demonstrations which would be televised. Lighting, background materials, and camera angles were all considered. Overall, it is an active, engaging, multi-purpose space that promotes collaboration among all Sabra employees and their guests.

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

The most valuable real estate in a commercial building has traditionally been the corner office. With views in two directions, this is a space that has status, prestige, and is usually beyond the reach of all but the top executives in a company.

The last of our three examples of workplace collaboration is from a tenant fit-up project for a local financial management firm. Their new offices are currently under construction in a downtown building on the top floor. The best real estate in this building is along the western side, with floor-to-ceiling storefront glazing that overlooks Lake Champlain. And of these spaces facing the lake, the best of the best are at the two corners, with sweeping panoramic views and direct access to outdoor rooftop terraces.  

But instead of reserving these rooms for private offices, both corners are made available for everyone to use, consciously designed to foster collaboration, where people can be free and unburdened to work together dynamically.

At the northwest corner, the Library is a room for both private concentration and small group meetings. This is a casual space with comfortable seating, dimmable lighting, and a stone fireplace with built-in wood casework on each side for books and reference materials.  It is a quiet space that offers a retreat from the main office. And with an all-glass façade and doors that open out to a rooftop terrace, it will surely become a destination for everyone who works here.

Rooms like this are important for informal meetings, where workers may feel they can discuss things more freely than in a formal meeting. And because it is a non-scheduled space, people can come together in a relaxed environment at a moment’s notice.

The counterpoint to this space is the “team room” at the southwest corner of the building. In this room, eight people work together around a peninsula-shaped table. A large LCD display is mounted to the wall at the head of the table.  Through the use of special A/V equipment that is built into the table, each person can take the contents of their laptop or tablet and flip it up on to the big screen to share with the group. There is not a single moderator or presenter here. Rather, everyone comes to the table with an equal voice, made possible through both the technology and the physical design of the room and furniture.

There are a couple good off-the-shelf options available that provide systems like this. For this project, we brought together a Vermont furniture maker – Lyndon Furniture – with a local audio/visual company – Geer Sound – to come up with a custom solution.

A NEW WORKPLACE

All three of these examples deal with workplace collaboration in their own way, but they are all reflections of how the workplace today is changing. As a result of worker demographics, advancements in technology, and ongoing economic challenges, the office landscape is evolving to allow for more unencumbered and productive group collaboration.

Solar Decathlon Review, day 3: Our Favorites

This Sunday, October 2nd is the final day for public viewing of the 19 student-built solar-powered homes of the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall.  The excitement is building as the points are adding up and a winner is coming into focus.  Tomorrow, Saturday Oct 1st, the winner will be announced, the team that has accrued the most points across the 10 categories in fields such as architecture, engineering, energy and affordability.

Many of the houses incorporate some of the technologies and green design strategies that I described in yesterday’s post, but the best houses are the ones that bring it all together beautifully.  Here are 3 of our favorites:

LIVING LIGHT by the University of Tennessee

This house is based on the cantilever barns of Southern Appalachia, with an open plan anchored by a dense core at each end.  But the real intelligence is in the envelope.

The all-glass north and south elevations consist of a 16” thick double-façade system, with a fixed plane of glass on the exterior, alternating fixed glass and full-height casement windows on the interior, and internal blinds.  In the winter, the air space within the south-facing façade collects heat that is directed to an ERV, supplying the home with preheated air.  In the summer months, the system works in reverse, drawing fresh air from the north façade by the ERV and pre-cooling it before it hits the ductless mini-split units.  Exhaust air is directed through the south façade to cool the cavity and reduce heat gain.

Energy is generated from a 10.9 kW rooftop array of cylindrical PV panels.  Look closely: those are cylindrical tubes that make up the canopy over the south façade.  Thin-film PVs are wrapped around these tubes, collecting sunlight from any angle.  There is no need to worry about the correct angle of the panels here, since the cylinders absorb sunlight from all directions.

You can get more info on the University of Tennessee solar house from the project website, livinglightutk.com, including some great detailed descriptions and explanations of the smart façade, roof top array, and more, at: livinglightutk.com/smartsystems/

WATERSHED by the University of Maryland

This house is all about the conservation and management of our water resources.  Coming from the Chesapeake Bay area, the students of the University of Maryland drew inspiration from the 64,000 square mile Chesapeake Bay watershed and have designed a house that addresses the storm water issues that threaten this fragile ecosystem.

The form of the house is defined by two rectangular modules with a split-butterfly roof.  A 9.2 kW solar PV array covers one side, and a green roof tops the other.  Rainwater is captured from the roof and directed to a series of captured wetlands, where the water is naturally filtered by plants until it can be pumped out for reuse as irrigation water.  Greywater from the shower is also directed to the constructed wetlands for reuse.

 

 

Finishes include thermo-treated exterior wood siding of poplar and ash, and recycled concrete countertops.

This is the 4th time the University of Maryland has competed in the Solar Decathlon, and their experience is paying off: as of this writing, they are currently in 1st place.

More information on WaterShed can be found at the University of Maryland project website, 2011.solarteam.org.










 

SELF RELIANCE by Middlebury College

This is the first year that a Vermont school is competing in the Solar Decathlon, and as a Vermont architect, I’m happy to say that Middlebury College has put up an impressive first showing.

The Middlebury house, dubbed Self Reliance, is a modern take on the traditional Vermont farmhouse.  It hits so many of the themes we all associate with the Vermont lifestyle: natural materials, sustainable food production, and family-friendly spaces.

Wood floors were harvested from Sugar Maple trees on the Middlebury campus.   The kitchen floor and island countertop is made of local Vermont slate.  And the children’s bedroom furniture is made by our friend Lincoln Brown of Modern Vermont.

While most of the other houses on the Mall covered every possible surface with spray foam insulation, Middlebury came out firmly against the stuff and instead went with a completely cellulose-insulated envelope. They explained their approach this way:  “Conventional insulations such as fiberglass or spray-in foam contain particles hazardous to all forms of life. They are also non-biodegradable and require tremendous amounts of oil and energy to process.  On the other hand … Cellulose insulation is safe, low-energy, cheap, and – most importantly – natural.”

Self Reliance is focused on personal, sustainable food production.  A greenhouse wall in the kitchen is not much more than a system of shelves for growing potted vegetables and herbs, but it is centrally located and promotes home-grown healthy eating. By making this such a prominent feature of the house, the students are trying to highlight the connection between local food production and energy use.

This is a very family-friendly house, designed for a family of four, with a division of public and private spaces.  Most of the other schools seem to struggle with the space constraints of the competition, designing homes under 1,000 square feet with murphy beds, movable walls, and multi-purpose spaces.  Many don’t even have real bedrooms.  The Middlebury house actually has TWO bedrooms, and a play loft accessible by a metal ladder.

Middlebury is doing very well for this being their first time in the Solar Decathlon.  They scored 4th in the prominent Architecture category, and came in 1st place for “Home Entertainment”.  This is one of those categories that aims to show that these are real, livable homes, so the students had to throw a movie night and 2 dinner parties.  They probably won due to the delicious localvore meal they prepared, which their guests praised as being very “Vermonty”.

On Wednesday, Metropolis Magazine called Self-Reliance one of “the two most striking projects at the Decathlon”.  They described it as “a warm and straightforward modern version of a traditional New England home that beautifully uses native Vermont materials.”

You can read more about Self Reliance on the Middlebury College project website, solardecathlon.middlebury.edu

Congratulations to the Middlebury team and to all the teams at the Solar Decathlon, and good luck tomorrow as the grand prize winner is announced!