Penn State Solar Decathlon 2007
http://solar.psu.edu/2007/default.aspx?lang=SM
http://solar.psu.edu/2007/default.aspx?lang=SM
The Solar Decathlon is a national competition held every two years. Penn State's first house competed on the mall of Washington D.C. in the Fall of 2007. Our design is a prototype for a community, but after the competition Penn State’s house remains sited at the Center for Sustainability on campus. The concept for Penn State’s house ties with the vernacular Pennsylvania, using PA hardwoods, reclaimed slate, PA steel. The home consists of a technical core which would be the same in any community. The living space is site specific and holds the materials, details, and form of the area in which it is built. These two spaces are connected by a breezeway. This studio allowed group collaboration and introduced us to a variety of different skills from product research,
construction details, actual construction in mock up, and team meetings with engineers and landscape architects.
The Milk Bottle Wall embodies the idea of our solar home. Intended as a thermal storage wall, the bottles hold water and capture the sun’s rays as it penetrates into the living space. The bottles tie to Pennsylvania’s agriculture and Penn State: the Creamery. It symbolizes the domesticated home with milk on the front porch. Milk Bottles, designed specifically for the Solar Decathlon will hang from the steel frame alluding to the milk bottling process [shown below]. The steel frame made of tube steel and angles is able to slide over the SIP panels to allow views and access to the outdoors. The organization of the milk bottles can be arranged in the image to the bottom right to allow different aesthetic arrangements or functional purposes.
construction details, actual construction in mock up, and team meetings with engineers and landscape architects.
The Milk Bottle Wall embodies the idea of our solar home. Intended as a thermal storage wall, the bottles hold water and capture the sun’s rays as it penetrates into the living space. The bottles tie to Pennsylvania’s agriculture and Penn State: the Creamery. It symbolizes the domesticated home with milk on the front porch. Milk Bottles, designed specifically for the Solar Decathlon will hang from the steel frame alluding to the milk bottling process [shown below]. The steel frame made of tube steel and angles is able to slide over the SIP panels to allow views and access to the outdoors. The organization of the milk bottles can be arranged in the image to the bottom right to allow different aesthetic arrangements or functional purposes.
