Tag: Vegetation

  • Australia Wins Solar Decathlon China 2013

    Winners of the Solar Decathlon China 2013, Team UOW (of University of Wollongong and TAFE Illawarra Institute) was the first Australian team to have ever won a place in a Solar Decathlon final and was the largest student-run competition that the UoW has ever entered. Hosted by the United States Department of Energy, the Chinese…

  • Salvaged Old-World Charm Meets Modern-Day Efficiency in S.C. Cabin

    Jay Hicks didn’t miss a beat when he lost his South Carolina cabin to a fire. He decided to build off of the 80-year-old original structure’s partial wall that had remained standing and devised a plan to have Addison Homes design and build a high-performance, energy efficient home that would have an old-world charm. Fitting…

  • Net Zero ADAPT Home Reduces the Need for Climate Control in the Chihuahua Desert

    One of twenty teams that have been chosen to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 competition, Team Texas is comprised of eighty students from multiple disciplines at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and El Paso Community College. Their submission is the $250,000 ADAPT home, a single family dwelling that takes…

  • Net Zero BARNagain Uses Reclaimed Barn Wood to Achieve LEED Platinum

    Dubbed BARNagain,  this LEED Platinum-certified home was designed by Rick Hauser of In.Site:Architecture to meet the client’s request for an energy-efficient house that utilized materials from a deteriorating barn for its structure and skin. The main structural elements of the home were built using timber frames, while reclaimed barn siding served as the exterior skin.…

  • Multi-Generational Retirement Home Combines Sustainability with Accessibility

    When young Alex Finnell was challenged by his parents to design an “age in place” home for them and his 95-year old grandmother, he set about helping them to achieve their goal of living in their own home late into their retirement years while being as safe, independent, and comfortable as possible. Finnell saw the…