SolarShipThe SolarShip is an mixed use retail, office, and residential building along the main road that goes through the neighborhood. The "plus energy" building generates more energy than it consumes.
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Solar SettlementIn this picture, the Solar Ship is located on the left and the "Solar Settlement" is the group of ~10 multifamily buildings covered in solar PV on the right.
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Holistic Approach to SustainablityVauban was just a pleasant place to live. Our door was located ~150 feet from this public square in front of the school, which housed a weekly farmers market.
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The S-House is located in a mild climate near Vienna, Austria; thus the design challenges regarding temperature and moisture are less than on our build. Here, the building was built off the ground with bales under the floor, in the walls, and in the ceiling.
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The building is also a passive house, designed to maximize passive solar energy. The overhangs limit unwanted heat gain and glare, while the red facade is actually a furred out rain screen.
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Though functionally it is an office building, the S-House also serves as a demonstration center. Here we see the enormously thick walls from the strawbales. Besides the windows and doors, the building is made entirely out of natural materials - wood, straw, plaster, and bioplastic screws. Not even metal nails were used!
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Durable ExteriorsThe multifamily building being developed by the City of Munster's housing authority is built with durability in mind with simple, brick facades and high-quality tilt-turn windows.
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Insulated InteriorsA profile view of the walls shows from exterior to interior: the brick facade, 7.5 inches of rockwool insulation (in purple, total R value =~22), concrete block structure, and plaster walls. Plaster walls are standard in European builds.
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Bricks, Bricks, EverywhereWhereas 2x4 construction is standard in the US, these orange bricks are the standard structural member for low rise buildings. The bricks have intricate chambers/pockets that act as better insulators than standard bricks. However, in talking with Prof. Hohensinner he said Europeans have not fully come to terms with the added carbon intensity of creating such bricks.
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