FutureHAUS from The Virginia Tech Center for Design Research is the only American entry in the global Solar Decathlon competition this month in Dubai. The exhibition opened on November 14 and continues through November 29. Awards are available in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Energy Management, House Functioning, among other categories. FutureHAUS is competing against teams from Australia, France, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Palestine, Romania, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan.
The Virginia Tech team, led by Professor Joseph Wheeler, AIA, faced a set back last year when their prototype burned in a campus warehouse fire. The team rebuilt the prototype, carrying forward their concept of building “cartridges” that are preloaded with electrical and plumbing. The house can be largely prefabricated in a factory and moved to the site; also showcased are smart technologies geared to building performance and energy efficiency but also to how we may occupy our houses in the near future.
Photo: Courtesy of Accuride International
Photo: Courtesy of The Virginia Tech Center for Design Research
Virginia Tech has a winning history in competitions such as this, having taken top honors with LumenHAUS in the Solar Decathlon Europe held in Madrid, Spain, in 2010.
FutureHAUS received support from a lengthy list of sponsors:
Venveo, Sugatsune, Mitsubishi, DuPont, Hafele, Dow, Metwood, Living Machine, Tin Benders, Interlam, Insolcorp, Sleep Number, 3form, Blum, Pilkington, Arup, Accuride, B&M Sheet Metal, Element Designs, Columbia Forest products, Philips, SnapCab Pod, Linak, SPI Performance Coatings, Displax, Tesla, Weyerhaeuser, Honeywell, Cati-i Glass, Dominion Energy, Carlisle, Corning, Stonypoint, Glass Dynamics, HEWI, Schott, Thomson, Wood-Mode, Kohler, Masonite, Schneider Electric, Hawa, 3A Composites.