Solar Decathlon News!!!

 

The Department of Energy has determined that the Norwich University Solar Decathlon proposal is within the 'Competitive Range'. What does that mean?  See the note below from Jeffery Soltesz (NREL) regarding the upcoming schedule.

Thank you for submitting a response to the Solar Decathlon 2011 Request for Proposals (RFP), and we greatly appreciate your patience with the delay of notification.  I am happy to inform you that your proposal is within the competitive range.  However, final selection of the successful teams has not been made at this time.  We are currently working on amending the RFP to provide for further evaluation of the conceptual designs for near-term housing solutions from competitive offerers.

The competitive range of proposals for the subject RFP was determined in accordance with the "Source Evaluation and Selection Process" as described in the RFP.  Since your proposal has been determined to be within the competitive range you are eligible to move forward and compete in the next phase of the selection process.  We are still working out a few details, but an amendment to the RFP including a conceptual design submittal, and associated evaluation criteria, will be posted on the Solar Decathlon website no later than January 20, 2010.  Teams in the competitive range are encouraged to begin working on the conceptual design effort, consistent with your proposal, with an anticipated due date of mid-March.  A draft version of the Solar Decathlon 2011 rules is expected to be issued by January 31, 2010.  Notification of the final team selections are anticipated to be in mid-April.

I apologize that I am unable to provide specific details in this message, however once the final details of the RFP amendment are finalized and posted to the Solar Decathlon website, I will send a notification message which will also provide a link to the amendment. 

Thank you again for your patience and interest in the Solar Decathlon 2011!!! 

Jeff Soltesz , NREL Subcontract Administrator 

Translations from Model to Building: Michael Kilkelly of Frank O. Gehry & Associates

Lecture: Chaplin Hall Gallery November 18 at 5PM
Michael Kilkelly received his Bachelor of Architecture from Norwich University in 1995. Following graduation, Michael joined The S/L/A/M Collaborative in Glastonbury, Connecticut where he was responsible for the design and technical coordination of several healthcare and residential projects. Michael continued his education at the MIT, where he received a Master of Science in Architecture Studies with a concentration in Design and Computation in 1999. Michael has worked for a number of Boston area architecture and design firms, including Martha Schwartz Inc, Edificium and ADD Inc. He has also taught architectural design at The Boston Architectural College, Wentworth Institute of Technology and Northeastern University. Michael joined Gehry Partners in 2005, bringing over ten years of experience in project design, construction documentation and design technology management. Since joining the firm, he has worked on a diverse range of projects including sporting arenas, residential towers and performance halls. Michael was named an Associate of the firm in 2007 and is currently leading an effort to streamline the firm's 2D and 3D documentation methodologies. 

Solar [Re-con] Decathlon

Recently, 34 students from Architecture, Engineering, & Management visited our nation's capitol to tour the Solar Decathlon homes on the National Mall. These architecturally progressive, technically sophisticated houses present state of the art, modern housing alternatives that integrate solar electric, solar thermal, as well as many other renewable energy systems. Students canvassed the Mall to record and interpret each house in an effort to learn as much as they could in hopes of informing their own proposal for a house design for the 2011 Solar Decathlon. see more decathlon houses

Despite waiting in line for up to an hour in 40˚ temperatures and unending rain, the students held out and saw every house.  The Solar Decathlon gets better every year, and is a testament to public enthusiasm for modern architecture and renewable energy.  Special thanks to faculty and students of Virginia Tech for giving us a private tour of the LumenHaus; it was a highlight of our weekend Decathlon experience and was very inspiring. To find out more about the LumenHaus and the Solar Decathlon click here.

see more of the union station bike shopAmong other things visited in D.C. was the new Union Station Bicycle Depot, designed by KPG Design Studio. This new public facility is a jewel among jewels in the Nations Capitol. With an estimated $4 million construction cost (including site work), the bike depot uses three curved structural tubes with a laminated glass skin as an enclosure system. It’s passively heated and cooled and offers bike commuters a secure, dry place to store their bike while using the D.C. metro.  

Incarnating Site: A slice through the first two weeks of Design Studio AP311

See More Plaster CastsPremise: An architect must have the ability to simultaneously record the physical facts and interpret the emotive qualities of a site. This exercise is a vehicle to explore ways to translate both the physical and metaphysical qualities of a place into the development of a new object.
Objective: Using the information gathered during the site visit, develop a design principle (or multiple principles) that can serve as the basis for the design of an object that can incarnate the essence of the site.    
Deliverable: A cast plaster object that succinctly conveys the principles developed from the site analysis. 
Design Constraints: The cast plaster object will be oriented vertically and will not exceed 4” wide, by 6.5” deep, by 10.5” tall, nor will it’s greatest  dimension in height, width, or depth be less than these dimensions. 
The form-work for the cast must be re-usable so that multiple casts can be made from the same form. Only the provided plaster may be used for the cast. No admixtures. The finished object must be the direct result a cast.  i.e. no carving.
 

The Baldwin Studio Presents Large Scale Portraits in Chaplin Hall Gallery

Click Here to see all the portaitsThe drawings were required to be at least 5 feet in one direction and the images used were photographs that were exchanged, and taken, by students in the class. The media used to complete the drawings were chosen by the students and range from Birch plywood, fabric, foam core, museum board, and brown roofing paper.