Techstyle Haus (2014)
Techstyle Haus was our academic submission to the 2014 Solar Decathlon Competition, held in Versailles, France. The prompt of designing a textile-based enclosure that met the Passive House standard was a given from the start based on our experience in innovative enclosures and the possibilities inherent in advanced building membranes. The final result - a tensile home - was our student’s interpretation and invention. Why textiles? Advances in material science have made textiles and membranes an alternative to traditional masonry and wood construction and at a lower cost and easier assembly. An optimally contoured solar array generates electricity while solar thermal provides hot water, resulting in a net-zero, energy-independent prototype that consumes 90% less heating and cooling energy than an average American home. The project received an innovation award honorable mention from Fast Company Magazine and also received an International Achievement award from the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). Press hits included the Huffington Post, the New York Times, Le Monde, Metropolis, and IDEAT.
The project was designed in collaboration with Brown University, Fachhochschule Erfurt, and the Rhode Island School of Design. The project team included: Ryan Abendroth, Jacquelyn Albano, Sina Almassi, Benjamin Andreas, Alexa Asakiewicz, Jason Askew, Noemie Aureau, John Bacon, Andrea Barcia, Felicitas Bach, Phillip Bauer, Andreas Beck, Caterina Belardetti, Helen Bergstrom, Alex Blenkinsop, Matthew Breuer, Laura Briggs, Eliza Brine, Jake Buie, Christopher Bull, David Capezzuto, Howard Carter, Allison Chen, Pierre Crabos-Chenilleau, Stephen David, Marielle De Peña Mateo, James Dean, Peter Dean, Brian Dentinger, David Dilks, Todd Dinoia, Dirk Doerner, Carmel Dunlap, Kim Dupont-Madinier, Sascha Emmert, Jean Fuh, Zachary Futterer, Alexandra Gadawski, Jamie Graham, Thomas Hammermeister, Daniel Hewitt, Christopher Hitchcock, Sarah Hodum, Giles Holt, Dorian Juncewicz, Paul Kassabian, Phillip Kirchner, Jonathan Knowles, Timur Kolusz, Edward Lafond, Robert Lerner, Kyle Lloyd, Claudia Lorenz, Isby Lubin, Michael Lussier, John Mars, Kevin McNulty, Hanna McPhee, Richard Medairos, Anais Missakian, Matthew Osborn, Pierre-Yves Panis, Ludwig Rongen, Gareth Rose, Michele Roth, Mathias Schwartz-Clauss, Robert Schild, Joerg Schmidt, Sonja Schwenkglenks, Anya Sellsted, Eloise Sherrid, Derek Stein, Rory Stevens, Allison Stocco, Paul Szlachciuk, Julien Tanant, Anne Tate, Jean-Marie Thouvenin, Nick Tollman, Colin Touhey, Saja Tourbah, David Trampe, Annabelle Tran, Alexander Von Vegesack, Claire Watson, Benjamin Wendrich, Eric Whiting, Colin Wiencek, Grace Wong, Brian Wyle, Peter Yeadon, Sam Zeif, Richard Ziegler and Audrey Zonco.
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