I was chosen to be in a team of 25 students to build and present The Nottingham H.O.U.S.E, a student designed Code Level 6 Passive House, as the UK’s first and only entry to the Solar Decathlon 2010. The Solar Decathlon is a biennial academic compeition organised by the US Department of Energy. It allows universities from around the world to compete to build a 75m² ecohouse that relies on solar energy. The teams present their ecohouses to the public, this is then judged as one of 10 criteria including the architecture of the house, energy efficiency, and comfort. We assembled the modules for the house in Nottingham, they were than exhibited at Ecobuild in London, and shipped to Madrid for the competition itself. My work consisted of not only building the house from day 1 to finish, but also presenting at these events, being involved with the interior design, and also the landscaping.
Exerts from my construction diary
I kept a diary throughout the construction process from start to finish, this involved sketches, problems we had
encountered, how the house was being put together, and my personal recollections.
Timber clad wall structure
a, top corner with allowance for gutter
b, meeting of two walls from two 'boxes'
c, triple-glazed window section
The selection of drawings above begin to show how each module and wall was put together. The house was comprised of many layers to give a thick membrane that would allow for minimum change to the desired interior conditions. Everything had to be done precisely in accordance with instructions to make sure that the wall functioned as planned. The house was initially delivered as a series of timber palettes that had to be insulated and added to, to create the walls and floors that would become the house. Once the basic materials were added we could then focus on cladding the modules to give it the exterior appearance and protection.
Putting the modules together on site in Madrid
The modules and other material for the house was transported in lorries as shown above. Some modules required more work in Madrid as there were necessary changes that could only be made once the building had been put together on site. Cranes were used to lift the modules and place them together/on top of one another. It was then our job to secure the modules together and work on extra cladding and the interior as well as the landscaping on site. Further to this it was important to repair any damage that might have been made to parts of the house to allow for secure construction that would enable the installed systems to work as desired when the house was being tested against the criteria.
The final part of the competition was held on the last two weeks of June 2010 in Madrid on the banks of the Manzonares river. This formed the Villa Solar. The work involved a lot of dedication, with variable weather conditions and long working days. The experience tested our team but we successfully completed the house to the best of our ability despite on site problems with flooding. We tackled each issue together and learnt to look for solutions where possible. One of the most important aspects of the competition, for me, was the interaction with other teams which allowed me to extend my learning even further. It was interesting to see the different construction methods and systems used and how culture had a great part to play in each design.
