LEVERAGING THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SOLAR DECATHLON DESIGN CHALLENGE AS A FRAMEWORK FOR STUDENT-LED ADAPTIVE REUSE PROJECTS TO ADDRESS CONTEXT-SPECIFIC SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
This paper discusses the context, pedagogical approach, and design outcomes of two net-zero energy residential design projects completed by graduate architecture students as part of a comprehensive design studio course and submitted to the 2018 and 2020 USDOE Race to Zero/Solar Decathlon Design Challenge competition. The competition aims to give students real-word experience designing high-performance buildings by encouraging collaboration, involving community partners, and requiring a high degree of technical design development. Working within the competition parameters, two teams at Ball State University worked with outside partners to identify vacant/abandoned homes as a significant problem for rust-belt Indiana communities, and then focused their design efforts on high-performance retrofits of two blighted homes in Muncie and Indianapolis. Each project will be described in detail and the implications of the 2018 project on the 2020 project will be addressed. This paper will demonstrate that adaptive reuse projects can be used to engage students in context-specific challenges and to meet stringent high-performance design targets and thresholds. (162)ABSTRACT
Contributor Notes
1. Assistant Professor of Architecture, Ball State University, Muncie, IN. Email: tdcollins@bsu.edu
2. Assistant Professor of Architecture, Ball State University, Muncie, IN. Email: djoverbey@bsu.edu
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tom Collins
Tom Collins, PhD, AIA, LEED AP is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Ball State University where he teaches upper level design and environmental systems courses. His work focuses on high performance building design, occupant energy use, and indoor environmental quality. Tom is a Registered Architect and has worked on green building projects in Massachusetts and New York. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). He currently serves as the Treasurer of the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE). He has advised over nine Race to Zero/Solar Decathlon Design Challenge teams since 2017.
Daniel Overbey
Daniel Overbey, AIA, NCARB, LEED Fellow, LEED AP (BD+C, ID+C, O+M), WELL AP, EcoDistricts AP is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Ball State University and the Director of Sustainability for Browning Day in Indianapolis. His work focuses on high-performance building design and construction, environmental systems research, green building certification services, energy/ life-cycle assessment modeling, and resilient design. Daniel has offered sustainable design leadership on a number of high-profile green building projects including the first certified zero net energy (ZNE) building in Indiana. Daniel is also a committed volunteer at the local, state, and national levels of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).