scholarly journals Inside the First Light House: Interior Design for New Zealand’s Entry into the  U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2011

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Anna Farrow
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Interior Design ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Modular Construction ◽  
Solar Decathlon ◽  
Solar Powered ◽  
Complex Project ◽  
House Design ◽  
Small Team

<p>This thesis documents a two year journey to design and build a most unconventional kiwi bach. It reports on the applied research undertaken in order to meet the specific requirements of a particular construction project: the development of a transportable, modular, demountable, entirely solar-powered house built in New Zealand to compete in the US Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon, held in Washington DC. This challenge was initially taken on by a small team of undergraduate students with very little previous experience in the construction process. The team faced a set of technical and logistical hurdles that would have been daunting for even the most experienced practitioner to negotiate, let alone a group for whom an architectural career was just beginning. Such challenges included: - Creating a house design that would comply with two sets of building codes, endure 18,000 kilometres of transport over two months, expedite assembly by a team of unskilled labourers, and enable comfortable inhabitation after seven days; - Optimising the thermal performance and liveability of one building for two climates in two hemispheres; - Using architecture, landscape and interior design to explain New Zealand and its lifestyle to an American audience of 200,000; - Realising an entire and complex project that required 100% external funding and in-kind support from as-yet unknown parties. By predisposition, then, the project was not going to be simple: very little of the process and very few of the construction details were going to be standard in any way. This thesis focuses on the critical design developments of the house interior, from a hypothetical design to the full-scale assembly of a ‘kiwi bach’ in the heart of Washington DC. The research and outcomes presented here are not necessarily all precedents for future building projects, but rather ‘best-fit’ solutions for the highly particular and constrained design situation brought about by the interaction of the range of logistical, legislative and economic controls, the dynamics of the wider team, and the demands of the Solar Decathlon competition. The project as a whole can, and should, act as a valid precedent for future architectural projects with regard to research into modular construction, prefabrication, and the collaborative building process. The students that were involved will embark on their professional careers with the Solar Decathlon experience as a foundation for their future contribution to the construction industry.</p>

scholarly journals Inside the First Light House: Interior Design for New Zealand’s Entry into the  U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2011

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Anna Farrow
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Interior Design ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Modular Construction ◽  
Solar Decathlon ◽  
Solar Powered ◽  
Complex Project ◽  
House Design ◽  
Small Team

<p>This thesis documents a two year journey to design and build a most unconventional kiwi bach. It reports on the applied research undertaken in order to meet the specific requirements of a particular construction project: the development of a transportable, modular, demountable, entirely solar-powered house built in New Zealand to compete in the US Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon, held in Washington DC. This challenge was initially taken on by a small team of undergraduate students with very little previous experience in the construction process. The team faced a set of technical and logistical hurdles that would have been daunting for even the most experienced practitioner to negotiate, let alone a group for whom an architectural career was just beginning. Such challenges included: - Creating a house design that would comply with two sets of building codes, endure 18,000 kilometres of transport over two months, expedite assembly by a team of unskilled labourers, and enable comfortable inhabitation after seven days; - Optimising the thermal performance and liveability of one building for two climates in two hemispheres; - Using architecture, landscape and interior design to explain New Zealand and its lifestyle to an American audience of 200,000; - Realising an entire and complex project that required 100% external funding and in-kind support from as-yet unknown parties. By predisposition, then, the project was not going to be simple: very little of the process and very few of the construction details were going to be standard in any way. This thesis focuses on the critical design developments of the house interior, from a hypothetical design to the full-scale assembly of a ‘kiwi bach’ in the heart of Washington DC. The research and outcomes presented here are not necessarily all precedents for future building projects, but rather ‘best-fit’ solutions for the highly particular and constrained design situation brought about by the interaction of the range of logistical, legislative and economic controls, the dynamics of the wider team, and the demands of the Solar Decathlon competition. The project as a whole can, and should, act as a valid precedent for future architectural projects with regard to research into modular construction, prefabrication, and the collaborative building process. The students that were involved will embark on their professional careers with the Solar Decathlon experience as a foundation for their future contribution to the construction industry.</p>

scholarly journals The 10 Day Bach: A Net Zero Home

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ben Jagersma
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Thermal Modelling ◽  
Solar Array ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Solar Decathlon ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Passive Design ◽  
Reducing Energy

<p>Held every two years in Washington DC and run by the US Department of Energy the Solar Decathlon is a competition that challenges architecture and engineering students from all over the world to come up with new and innovative ways to design and construct low energy homes. For the first time in the competition’s history a team from New Zealand was selected to compete in the 2011 competition. This thesis documents the design process of the First Light house from concept to construction focusing on the relationship between energy and architecture in a New Zealand home designed for the Solar Decathlon. The challenge for the young architects and engineers competing in the competition is to develop ways of reducing energy consumption and to raise awareness of the energy saving benefits of highly efficient home design to the public. Despite this being the underlying philosophy, this thesis suggests that the competition is structured in a way that rewards technology over passive design innovation in architecture. A typical Solar Decathlon house is epitomized by a large solar array generating the power needing to run an oversized mechanical system. The New Zealand entry challenges this trend with the design of a home that is focused on ways to improve passive strategies for reducing energy use first before relying on technology. The question is whether a home designed with this philosophy in mind can still meet the strict requirements set out in the ten contests embedded in the Solar Decathlon? Designing a home to meet these requirements was also, in many ways, contradictory to the house’s philosophy. The conceptual driver of the First Light house was the iconic ‘kiwi bach.’ Commonly defined as “something you built yourself, on land you don’t own, out of materials you borrowed or stole,” the bach gives a unique model of comfort and how people might live in a space. Its values are associated with a relationship with the outdoors, a focus on the social aspects of the home and a simple use of technology. As the project developed it was also apparent ‘the bach’, if it were used all year round, could become a symbol for the current state of many New Zealand homes; cold, damp, unhealthy and wasteful of energy. Finding ways to improve this while maintaining the essence of the bach became one of the major motivations throughout the design process. The challenge with this was that the goals associated with designing a ‘kiwi bach’ for a New Zealand climate were, in many ways, conflicting with the requirements of the Solar Decathlon competition. Using comprehensive thermal modelling the First Light house was designed as a net zero energy home that could meet the requirements of two quite unique briefs for two distinctly different climates. Throughout this thesis the often contradictory relationship between the First Light house as a Solar Decathlon entry and the First Light house as an energy efficient ‘kiwi bach’ is explained. Broken into three parts the thesis looks at the passive design of the home and the optimization of the building envelope through thermal modelling, the active side of the design and the generation of solar energy and finally documents the actual performance of the house both in Wellington and in Washington DC during the competition.</p>

scholarly journals The 10 Day Bach: A Net Zero Home

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ben Jagersma
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Thermal Modelling ◽  
Solar Array ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Solar Decathlon ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Passive Design ◽  
Reducing Energy

<p>Held every two years in Washington DC and run by the US Department of Energy the Solar Decathlon is a competition that challenges architecture and engineering students from all over the world to come up with new and innovative ways to design and construct low energy homes. For the first time in the competition’s history a team from New Zealand was selected to compete in the 2011 competition. This thesis documents the design process of the First Light house from concept to construction focusing on the relationship between energy and architecture in a New Zealand home designed for the Solar Decathlon. The challenge for the young architects and engineers competing in the competition is to develop ways of reducing energy consumption and to raise awareness of the energy saving benefits of highly efficient home design to the public. Despite this being the underlying philosophy, this thesis suggests that the competition is structured in a way that rewards technology over passive design innovation in architecture. A typical Solar Decathlon house is epitomized by a large solar array generating the power needing to run an oversized mechanical system. The New Zealand entry challenges this trend with the design of a home that is focused on ways to improve passive strategies for reducing energy use first before relying on technology. The question is whether a home designed with this philosophy in mind can still meet the strict requirements set out in the ten contests embedded in the Solar Decathlon? Designing a home to meet these requirements was also, in many ways, contradictory to the house’s philosophy. The conceptual driver of the First Light house was the iconic ‘kiwi bach.’ Commonly defined as “something you built yourself, on land you don’t own, out of materials you borrowed or stole,” the bach gives a unique model of comfort and how people might live in a space. Its values are associated with a relationship with the outdoors, a focus on the social aspects of the home and a simple use of technology. As the project developed it was also apparent ‘the bach’, if it were used all year round, could become a symbol for the current state of many New Zealand homes; cold, damp, unhealthy and wasteful of energy. Finding ways to improve this while maintaining the essence of the bach became one of the major motivations throughout the design process. The challenge with this was that the goals associated with designing a ‘kiwi bach’ for a New Zealand climate were, in many ways, conflicting with the requirements of the Solar Decathlon competition. Using comprehensive thermal modelling the First Light house was designed as a net zero energy home that could meet the requirements of two quite unique briefs for two distinctly different climates. Throughout this thesis the often contradictory relationship between the First Light house as a Solar Decathlon entry and the First Light house as an energy efficient ‘kiwi bach’ is explained. Broken into three parts the thesis looks at the passive design of the home and the optimization of the building envelope through thermal modelling, the active side of the design and the generation of solar energy and finally documents the actual performance of the house both in Wellington and in Washington DC during the competition.</p>

scholarly journals Solar decathlon Europe 2019: The resilient nest as a solar powered and energy efficiency rooftop house for urban density

2020 ◽  
Vol 463 ◽  
pp. 012033
Author(s):  
Kasan Chanto ◽  
Peerasit Mahasuwanchai ◽  
Warawit Eakintumas ◽  
Choophong Lairat ◽  
Nutkitti Thavornsettawat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Urban Density ◽  
Solar Decathlon ◽  
Solar Powered

scholarly journals Solar Decathlon. Interdisciplinary and collaborative research competing on a world stage

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Guy Marriage
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
International Student ◽  
Architectural Education ◽  
Collaborative Project ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Solar Decathlon ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Design Build ◽  
Solar Powered

<p>The Solar Decathlon is an international student competition requiring university-led interdisciplinary student teams to research, design, build and operate a solar-powered house. Projects like this are highly competitive but have significant learning benefits for those involved. The Decathlon requires a wide range of student skills and so is by nature highly interdisciplinary. To win requires a significant amount of collaboration between team members who must rapidly accumulate specialised knowledge of diverse fields including solar design. This paper looks at the Solar Decathlon 2011 project submitted by Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, examines the pedagogical methodologies used, and debates the usefulness of this type of interdisciplinary and collaborative project for students of a school of architecture. It notes the difficulties placed on integration of a single-project focus on the wider scope of a typical architectural education and proposes that the broader degree curriculum may benefit from evolving to better accommodate the flexibility needed for targeted design-led research competitions such as the Solar Decathlon.</p>

scholarly journals The Role of Architectural Design in Enhancing Place Attachment for Older Adults in Retirement Communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Masoumeh Shiran
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Interior Design ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Place Attachment ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Internal Space ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Age In Place ◽  
Retirement Village

<p>New Zealand, like many other countries, is experiencing a significant change in its population. According to Statistics New Zealand (2015), the number of people aged 65 and over (65+) is on the rise, having doubled since 1980, and the number is likely to double again by 2036 (Statistics New Zealand, 2013). Retirement villages are a relatively new residential-type that caters for this ageing population. Demand for this form of housing by a small but increasing number is influenced by the growth in the number of people living beyond retirement age and because of a lack of other appropriate alternatives. Relocating to such housing requires many residents to adjust to an entirely new environment and lifestyle. Place attachment is understood to support successful adjustment to a new condition, aiding older adults to age contentedly in their new surroundings and as a result, age in place.  This research highlights the relationships between architectural features and people’s sense of place attachment, arguing that place and space are important variables for how older adults feel about ageing in a retirement village. The key questions in this research are: What are the design features in planned retirement villages that can enhance the satisfaction of residents, the sense of place they feel and their attachment to it? Finding the answers to these questions requires understanding how a sense of place attachment develops, the degree to which each causal factor affects this sense, and also the effects between factors. A total of 22 residents of a recently completed retirement village in Wellington, all aged 65+, were recruited through purposive and snowballing sampling. Data were collected through a mixed-methods approach using photovoice and semi-structured interviews. The aim was to explore at two scales, those of the home and of the neighbourhood, the features of a physical environment that older adults consider important for enhancing place attachment and facilitating ageing in place.  The findings reveal that themes such as age-friendly design and autonomy related to the functionality of space (place dependence) were important in enhancing older adults attachment to place. Findings from this research also show that having an open/semi-open layout of internal space, large windows and plenty of sunlight, accessible large closet and storage space, shared/public green space and accessible and age-friendly design of entry, bathroom and kitchen area are features most participants found to be important in raising their sense of attachment to where they live.  This research suggests that retirement villages could be an option for older adults to age in place and to ensure that they can develop a sense of attachment it is important to hear their voice and engage potential users at an early stage in the design process.  The outcomes of this study could aid older adults when looking for a suitable retirement village or even alternative housing. They could also serve other researchers in the fields of gerontology, architecture and interior design to address the gap in the literature as to which physical features lead to enhancement of place attachment for the older generation.</p>

scholarly journals Undergraduate scholarship: Local is global, and global is local

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Usher
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Travel Abroad ◽  
Scholarly Projects ◽  
Real World Problems

Research and Travel Abroad are considered two important high impact practices for undergraduate students, but are seen as separate learning opportunities. However, we know that these experiences are connected: faculty often study and collaborate internationally, and employers are seeking students who can apply knowledge to real-world problems and have cultural competency (Hart Research Associates, 2015).  In this conversation with faculty, I build on five years of Students as Scholars experience to promote a more nuanced and integrated view of “global” research. Students work on projects that usually fall into one of three categories: locally/regionally-focused, internationally-focused, and site-independent (with implicit global value). The location of the research can be at Mason, or in an international location. By framing the scholarly projects using this intersection of topic and location, we can create projects in and beyond the classroom in ways that intentionally teach about global issues through inquiry and research.  During this session, after presenting the model, participants will brainstorm ways to integrate global perspectives in research courses, study abroad experiences, and scholarly projects that involve students. Hart Research Associates (2015) Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-falling-short

scholarly journals Anscombe's plans for Highrise Living

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 29-43
Author(s):  
Christine McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Inner City ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Residential Area ◽  
Art Deco ◽  
High Rise ◽  
Apartment Buildings ◽  
House Design

In the 1930s New Zealand was yet to invest in inner-city living via large scale apartment buildings. Few examples of flats existed. A. Sinclair O'Connor's Courtville (1914-19) at the corner Waterloo Quadrant and Parliament Street, Auckland, and Francis Petre's Manor Place Flats in Dunedin were exceptions to conventional living. In the 1930s greater interest was shown in the design of inner-city apartments – most famously by the Department of Housing Construction's Berhampore Flats, Adelaide Rd (Wellington, Gordon Wilson, 1938-40), and Symonds Street Flats, Symonds Street (Auckland, Friedrich Neumann, 1939-47), anticipating their 1940s work: the Dixon Street Flats, Dixon Street (Wellington, 1940-44), the Maclean Flats, The Terrace (Wellington, 1943-44), the Hanson Street Flats, Newtown (1943-44), and the Greys Avenue Flats, Greys Avenue (Auckland, 1945-47). [NEW PARAGRAPH] In Wellington, Edmund Anscombe dominated the design of privately funded inner city flats, designing six art-deco/modernistic apartments during this time: Belvedere, Hamilton Flats, Olympus, Linfield, Alberts Flats and Franconia. This paper examines these apartments in the context of Anscombe's comments on house design, and housing, and his 1936 proposal to replan the area of Adelaide Road as a residential area to accommodate superblocks of high rise apartments.

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