Going Green in DC

I recently had the opportunity to explore the green homes on the mall in Washington D.C. during the final weekend of the Solar Decathlon 2009, a global expo of homes presented by the U.S. Department of Energy. Featuring submissions by university teams from the continental U.S, Puerto Rico, and beyond, the exhibit showcased a variety of new technologies and materials to promote the idea of "Green Living." While the weather was somewhat unconducive to touring the compact homes in the exhibit, I still enjoyed exploring a number of the submissions.

 Among my favorites was the submission by Rice (pictured in the above two photos.) What was so great about this home to me was the economy of construction and feasability of their solution. Ringing in at around $100 / sf it was also one of the most affordable homes in the Decathlon and demonstrated some real potential in the "take home ideas" department. Since it was designed for a real neighborhood in Houston, TX it met the challenges of being able to conform to an actual site. A crisp modern design using inexpensive off-the-shelf materials from retailers such as IKEA and Home depot to acheive simple, clean "high design" drove home the concept. 

My favorite home in the exhibit was the so-called "Sol-Abode" presented by Team Alberta. While advanced systems were in place throughout the home, the best features were simple, yet creative design gestures such as a glass "keyway" which bisected the center of the home struck a great balance between "styling" the home and providing integrated aesthetic and functional features to meet the needs of an end user in the space. While no larger in square footage than the other submissions, the Sol Abode felt surprisingly large thanks to good space planning and those aesthetic gestures I mentioned earlier, not to mention the extra deck and roof deck space integrated into the plan.