Solar Decathlon
Posted: November 7, 2008 by Michelle, Category:Sustainability, Uncategorized
As an employee of IES who is looking at sustainability from the architecture and design point of view, I know how important it is to think of the energy consumption of a building before you finalize, or even start, a design. Thinking ahead to a green mechanical system is not something engineers are solely responsible for, nor is it something that can be achieved by adding a single solar panel. Green design is a holistic approach, viewing all aspects of the building as potential problems or solutions that could reduce the energy loads on the building. As a student as well as an employee, I am putting these ideas to use for a competition that my college will be involved in.
The 2009 Solar Decathlon takes place in Washington DC as a bi-annual event, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Twenty schools have been chosen to participate in this event. As a Masters of Architecture student of the Boston Architectural College, I am deeply involved with the project. Our architecture and interior design focused college partnered with engineering and policy students of Tufts University and entered the competition that will take place October 9-18, 2009. IES software is an invaluable tool for us to use throughout the design process.
IESVE has provided both time and resources for the Boston Architectural College/Tuft’s Team to analyze/gain real-time feedback on the design, and offers the team an advanced tool to tune their design to a point where it is ready to compete, and hopefully win this competition. This experience is teaching architects to work closely with the engineers throughout the design process by showing how important this is, instilling skills for the future. The team also has to work together to construct the design on the National Mall in Washington DC.
Please look for us in the future on our team website: http://www.teambostond.com/index.shtml
Keep up with the entire USDE 2009 Solar Decathlon at: http://www.solardecathlon.org
Hope to see you in 2009,
Michelle
