Lumenhaus

What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project?

The Virginia Tech LumenHAUS proposal was selected by the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe organization to design and build a net zero solar powered house with a focus on architectural design, energy efficiency, marketability and sustainability. Students considered innovations, research, and lessons learned from the design construction and operation of prior Solar Decathlon houses. Seventeen Teams each received 100,000 Euro to construct and transport the prefab projects to the competition site in Madrid, Spain. In June 2010, the houses underwent a week of extreme testing to determine the most beautiful and energy efficient solar house. The LumenHAUS won first place overall in the competition. The architectural jury, which included Glen Murcutt, awarded the house first place in architecture.

Can you describe the design process for the building?

The Virginia Tech Solar House is driven by a multidisciplinary approach that challenges research through application. It harnesses the tension created by the dualities of calculation and intuition; technological innovation and architectural expression; optimized performance and sensible materials; and between physical fact and psychic effect. Simultaneous consideration of technology and architectural content has guided the identity of the house. Every decision involving quantitative criteria was measured in terms of its contribution to spatial quality. New forms have been derived from technical considerations, and enriched patterns of daily life find expression in a celebration of energy awareness and resource conservation.

This project pushes existing paradigms by proposing an architectural form that celebrates solar energy while obtaining a high level of system integration. Issues of energy are often interpreted as primarily technical, comprising data and enhanced by equipment. We subscribe to this mandate and affirm that the calculative world of science and engineering are indispensable. Yet, we also believe that these efforts in themselves are not sufficient - it ultimately must be beautiful as well as functional.

Architectural concepts that inform the design:
• A house larger than itself – plan and section orchestrated by light and material to enhance spatial perception of a small footprint and volume
• A house that responds to changing environmental conditions and user requirements
• Every technical decision is measured in terms of its contribution to spatial effect
• Material considered for its technical capacity and architectonic expression
• The landscape and architecture are one
• Enriched patterns of daily life find expression in a celebration of energy awareness and resource conservation.
• Energy efficient and sustainable living is offered in a rich and sensuous environment
• Marketability and innovation – simultaneous awareness of public taste and the need for something meaningfully different and exciting

The name LUMENHAUS and the notion of living a brighter day, everyday finds expression in a specific architectural type. The house takes the provocative position of a pavilion - an architectural space of distinction unlike most solar powered houses. Where most energy conscious houses are closed with strategic openings to resist heat transfer, this house has flowing spaces linking inside and outside. Open on the north and south facades, the house seems much larger than its small footprint. Decks, water features and landscape mesh with the architecture to create a seamless environment of sun and space. Rich and divergent qualities of light fill the house from sunrise to sunset, and sliding panel systems respond to climactic conditions, providing a full range of protection from the elements and a rich architectural experience. The duality of open and closed is possible through a sophisticated integration of the architecture and the technology.

How does the building relate to contemporary architectural trends, be it sustainability, technology, etc.?

Ever since the 1970’s, solar technology has been burdened with a stigma of ugly and unreliable equipment that destroyed any sense of proportion and beauty in building. Arbitrarily attached to new or existing construction, the product became associated with a small clique of individuals disenfranchised from mainstream public taste. LUMENHAUS™ is designed to challenge those perceptions and reestablish the ideals of solar energy by integrating architecture and technology. It pushes existing paradigms by proposing an architectural form that celebrates solar energy while obtaining a high level of system integration.

This building is designed for spatial clarity, integrity of material, quality of light, and energy performance. The United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Residential program provides us with an outline on which to layer additional architectural meaning by designing with environmental sustainability and human health in mind. Design decisions and material selection aim to reduce indoor pollutants, minimize global warming, reduce waste, include recycled content, represent low embodied energy in manufacture and harvest, limit destruction to habitat, and rapidly renew resources.

Though the focus of the competition is solar, no effort would be coherent without an awareness and consideration of this larger picture. At the same time, we are concerned about manufacturers’ tendency to call everything green. We realize there are trade-offs and compromises one makes to realize a greater good. We have tried to balance design quality, resource conservation and energy efficiency. In the end it must be beautiful enduring sustainability.

LUMENHAUS™ emphasizes integrity and endurance. Choices of materials and components are based on the basic requirements of environmental conservation and energy use, as well as the longevity of each product. General concepts for sustainable architecture – compact volume, little air infiltration, strategic insulation, natural/cross ventilation, passive heating, and integrated geothermal energy sink – are articulated with appropriate technologies. Design decisions and material selection aim to reduce indoor pollutants, minimize global warming, reduce waste, include recycled content, represent low embodied energy in manufacture and harvest, limit destruction to habitat, and rapidly renew resources.

The best way to address issues of energy in buildings is to use as little as possible. The pavilion architecture allows low-energy patterns of use through passive heating, solar shading, and cross ventilation. Responsive Architecture optimizes energy use by adapting to changing environmental conditions while increasing the quality of space. Utilizing smart home technology and environmental controls the house produces more energy than it consumes while providing for increased livability. Through the concept of Responsive Architecture, the house employs sliding fenestrations (Eclipsys System) to optimize energy use while providing for different architectural spatial qualities. Computer automated controls allow the house to automatically adapt to changing environmental conditions. Living in smaller and adaptable houses uses fewer resources, and the prefabricated construction process reduces waste and increases efficiency. We can downsize our dwellings while improving the quality of life.

Are there any new/upcoming projects at the school that this building’s design and construction has influenced?

Design research does not effectively fit the scientific model and does not enjoy the traditional funding sources of other disciplines. The iterative, exploratory nature of design tends to make the process appear redundant and sometimes without focus, while the technical rationality of the scientific method is accepted without question. The tendency to associate research with science, drawing the conclusion that objectivity is validated through quantitative data underpins much of university culture. However, though scientific inquiry remains an effective instrument for unlocking secrets of the way things work, there is nagging doubt regarding its capacity to embrace a holistic perspective, particularly in regard to the implicit values of human activities. Lumenhaus is the result of merging engineering calculation and the artistic, intuitive processes that designers bring to situations of uncertainty, instability, and uniqueness. It draws from two previous solar houses and projects to future projects.

The next initiative focuses on industrialized building components with an emphasis on alternative energy, optimization of the building envelope and enduring sustainability. Just as the development of the shutter screens for Lumenhaus were based on architectural precedent (the Mashrabiya screen of the middle ages found in Arabic architecture), design development and refinement included the use of Grasshopper, a scripting software allowing for integration of complex geometries and performance criteria. A future goal is to have an exposition of ten industrialized houses, conceived and built at major universities exploring the relationship between the validation of science and the exploratory search of design.

Building on the research and success of past projects, the intention is to advance discipline knowledge in the areas of energy optimization, market viability, and prefabricated, industrialized building components.

E-mail interview conducted by John Hill