InSite was Middlebury College's entry in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2013, an international design competition to create net-zero energy homes. Homes were evaluated across 10 contests ranging from market appeal to engineering. The homes were designed and built over a two year period and transported to Irvine California where they were assembled in 10 days prior to the competition. Middlebury College was the only liberal arts college competing against professional engineering and architecture programs.
Design Goals
Bringing a holistic perspective to the D.O.E's challenge, we sought to create a model that engages with its site and the surrounding community to promote sustainability within and beyond its super-insulated envelope. Our 5 Points of InSiteful Design governed our design decisions and reflect values that contribute to a sustainable home that is part of a stronger, healthier, and more resilient community.
Design Approach
InSite features proportionally large living/dining and deck spaces, opening towards both St. Mary's Elementary and the Solar Path, a pedestrian walkway sheltered by the house's solar panels. Private spaces are intimate, cozy, and tucked into the privacy of the rising hill. A super-insulated envelope with triple-glazed windows minimizes heating and cooling loads. The central mechanical space houses an Energy Recovery Ventilator and Daikin air handler and is equipped with automated louvers to provide natural ventilation using the stack effect when weather conditions permit.
The 5 Points of InSiteful Design
As a model of appropriate, site-specific design, we hope that InSite inspires visitors to think about bringing sustainability to their own homes and neighborhoods. Borrowing from Le Corbusier, we developed the 5 Points of InSiteful Design, to summarize the strategies we used on InSite for application in their own context.
Live in a Walkable Community
The Solar Path exemplifies the importance of pedestrian transit and living near essential services to living a sustainable lifestyle.
Prioritize Social Space
With a larger floor area, higher ceilings, and prominent placement of the public space within the home, InSite focuses on spaces where people interact on every day.
Consolidate Energy Systems
The tall mechanical chimney minimizes energy loss through pipes and ductwork by packaging the home's systems in a compact area, directly adjacent to the sources of demand.
Engage the Street
Lighter wood in the public space and entry cutouts face the nearby residential neighborhood and school, breaking up the facade and opening the house to street-life.
Use Local materials
Barnboard, slate, maple flooring, cellulose insulation: Materials chosen from the surrounding landscape reduce transportation costs, support the local economy, and bring the narratives of the landscape into the home.
A Mission to Minimize Whole-Project CO2
Team Middlebury's commitment to sustainability encompassed all aspects of the project, beyond simple efficiency and embodied energy. A 5,800 mile round-trip journey to the competition made us evaluate methods of transport early in the design process. Based on our analysis, we committed to using the intermodal rail, saving $100,000, 6200 tons of CO2 emissions, and making a statement that would echo throughout the design.
Showing the Journey by Design
InSite's travel by rail became an important part of project narrative and the 8' grid that allowed the house panels to stack within intermodal containers was used to define and partition the interior space. The dark steel structure running from north-to-south against light wood surfaces orients each space to the glazing and solar exposure on the south facade. The transparency of structure provides a visible reminder of the impact of transportation and an educational opportunity for the home's role as an outreach center.
1 Home, 30 Students, 10 Days
Upon arrival in Irvine, The Solar Decathlon's tight 10 day on-site construction schedule left no room for error. Extensive organization, scheduling, and preparation ensured that materials, equipment and personnel aligned smoothly, and contingency plans prepared for the inevitable unexpected.
House components and tools were carefully annotated, marked and packed so that they could be unloaded in the order of assembly, ensuring that the materials needed for a given task were always at hand.