STUDENT TEAM STARTS BUILDING TECHSTYLE HAUS FOR THE SOLAR DECATHLON EUROPE 2014 COMPETITION.
Team including representatives from Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Applied Sciences of Erfurt, Germany begin building their entry to the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 Competition, a passive house made entirely of high-performance textiles.
PROVIDENCE, RI, FEBRUARY 3, 2014.
BUILDING HAS BEGUN.
After over a year of designing, planning, and designing some more, TECHSTYLE HAUS has finally begun fabrication. The team has set up a build site to construct the pieces of TECHSTYLE HAUS at a warehouse in Providence owned by Ximedica. With the help of Shawmut Construction, students have learned about the essentials of safe building and site management.
While some students built model floor pallets, others completed a full scale mock-up of a section of the house to study the wall assembly and insulation composition. Other parts of the TECHSTYLE HAUS design have been finalized:
Design of the decks and foundation pallets
Design of the mechanical core, with help from Herrick & White
Design of the HVAC system, with help from Viessmann and TACO
Engineering specifications of the steel structure, with help from Chicago Rolled Metal Products and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Engineering and design specifications of the Sheerfill membrane, with help from Saint-Gobain and Birdair
Furniture and interior finish selections, with help from Vitra
Even though the team has much more construction ahead of them, they are all eager to don their hard hats to realize their vision for a new type of sustainable housing. Construction is slated to be complete by the end of April so that the project can be packed up and shipped (thankfully it’s made of lightweight textiles) to France, ready to be re-erected for the Solar Decathlon Europe Competition in June.
TECHSTYLE HAUS.
Challenging problems desire challenging solutions. The world is rocked by volatile climate change, resource depletion, and social upheaval; and architects must design in response to the needs of the times. We cannot hope to design for the new world if our ideas of architecture are mired in the definitions of the past.
SOLAR DECATHLON
STUDENT TEAM STARTS BUILDING TECHSTYLE HAUS FOR THE SOLAR DECATHLON EUROPE 2014 COMPETITION.
Team including representatives from Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Applied Sciences of Erfurt, Germany begin building their entry to the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 Competition, a passive house made entirely of high-performance textiles.
PROVIDENCE, RI, FEBRUARY 3, 2014.
BUILDING HAS BEGUN.
After over a year of designing, planning, and designing some more, TECHSTYLE HAUS has finally begun fabrication. The team has set up a build site to construct the pieces of TECHSTYLE HAUS at a warehouse in Providence owned by Ximedica. With the help of Shawmut Construction, students have learned about the essentials of safe building and site management.
While some students built model floor pallets, others completed a full scale mock-up of a section of the house to study the wall assembly and insulation composition. Other parts of the TECHSTYLE HAUS design have been finalized:
Design of the decks and foundation pallets
Design of the mechanical core, with help from Herrick & White
Design of the HVAC system, with help from Viessmann and TACO
Engineering specifications of the steel structure, with help from Chicago Rolled Metal Products and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Engineering and design specifications of the Sheerfill membrane, with help from Saint-Gobain and Birdair
Furniture and interior finish selections, with help from Vitra
Even though the team has much more construction ahead of them, they are all eager to don their hard hats to realize their vision for a new type of sustainable housing. Construction is slated to be complete by the end of April so that the project can be packed up and shipped (thankfully it’s made of lightweight textiles) to France, ready to be re-erected for the Solar Decathlon Europe Competition in June.
TECHSTYLE HAUS.
Challenging problems desire challenging solutions. The world is rocked by volatile climate change, resource depletion, and social upheaval; and architects must design in response to the needs of the times. We cannot hope to design for the new world if our ideas of architecture are mired in the definitions of the past.
SOLAR DECATHLON COMPETITION.
The 2014 European Solar Decathlon is an international competition that challenges 20 university teams to compete in ten contests to build a completely solar-powered house. Contests include Innovation, Architecture, Sustainability, and Energy Efficiency.
TEAM.
We are a dedicated and diverse team from Brown University, The Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Applied Sciences of Erfurt, Germany. Together, our goal is to challenge the very definition of sustainable building design, harness new material potentials, and embrace the spirit of innovation.
VERSAILLES.
The competition takes place in Versailles, France between June 26 and July 11, immediately after a short assembly phase starting June 13.
BOISBUCHET.
Following a brief breakdown at the competition, TECHSTYLE HAUS will be moved to Domaine de Boisbuchet, a prestigious campus for art and design workshops in Lessac, France. The house will serve as a prototype that will be aggregated, creating a dense student commune for 40 students. Following assembly, TECHSTYLE HAUS will be continually monitored and studied to not only test its performance, but its viability as a new kind of sustainable development.
A LEARNING TOOL.
TECHSTYLE HAUS is first and foremost a learning tool. By choosing to work with textiles, we are inevitably challenging conventional architectural practices and approaching homebuilding with a fresh perspective. This challenge has encouraged us to consider the problem with playful and willing minds and has given us the opportunity to invent new solutions to old problems.
PASSIVE HOUSE.
The house may inspire active experience, but will be built to the Passive House Standard, the premier benchmark for energy performance. TECHSTYLE HAUS will challenge the typical idea of a passive, high-performance house (with its four thick walls and highly insulated ceilings), to one with sweeping arches and an innovative textile wall enclosure.
TEXTILE SKIN.
Our most innovative invention is our textile wall assembly. Textiles intelligently layer to create a high-performance exterior enclosure suitable for Passive House Standard, while integrating textural interior textiles.
SOLAR ENERGY.
We are utilizing textile-integrated flexible solar photovoltaic cells and solar thermal units to harness energy, making for an entirely off-the-grid house.
LIFESTYLE.
TECHSTYLE HAUS features an open and flexible plan suitable for multiple lifestyles. Aside from the compact core for utilities, the house can be adapted and defined by its inhabitants. The design will incorporate Saint Gobain’s Multi-Comfort principles to ensure a maximized interior environment.
