Penn State team wins national awards for GreenBuild design

Over 30 architecture and engineering students at Penn State formed a team called H4 | Heritage Homes: High Performance Living in Harmony with Community for the 2015 US Department of Energy (DOE) Race to Zero Student Design Competition. The competition challenged and inspired students to design an affordable, net zero energy home that meets DOE's Zero Energy Ready Home guidelines. The design concept of H4 was created in collaboration with the State College Community Land Trust (SCCLT) for its GreenBuild initiative.
The SCCLT challenged students to consider affordability both in initial construction costs and long term energy costs. The team worked closely with the SCCLT throughout the design process through design charettes and visual preference surveys. “I was extremely impressed with the knowledge the students brought to the discussion,” said SCCLT Board Member Ron Filippelli. “They were well informed and very professional.”
The competition team was supported in great part by the Pennsylvania Housing Resource Center (PHRC). The ongoing coordination with the SCCLT as the project moves to the next stage of development will continue to be supported by the Hamer Center for Community Design design-build arm, the Energy Efficient Housing Research Group.
Image: John De La Rosa/NREL
The SCCLT challenged students to consider affordability both in initial construction costs and long term energy costs. The team worked closely with the SCCLT throughout the design process through design charettes and visual preference surveys. “I was extremely impressed with the knowledge the students brought to the discussion,” said SCCLT Board Member Ron Filippelli. “They were well informed and very professional.”
- Penn State awards: Design Excellence and Systems Integration Excellence
- 33 teams from 27 schools in U.S. and Canada
- Penn State H4 team representatives: Kyle Macht and Chauntel Duriez
- Faculty advisers: Lisa Domenica Iulo and Scott Wing, both associate professors in architecture
The competition team was supported in great part by the Pennsylvania Housing Resource Center (PHRC). The ongoing coordination with the SCCLT as the project moves to the next stage of development will continue to be supported by the Hamer Center for Community Design design-build arm, the Energy Efficient Housing Research Group.
Image: John De La Rosa/NREL