PH01:BRK: Potentials of Teaching Building Science through Design-Build

The construction of a certified passive house in a rural, red state signals the successful completion of a case-study project that has had far-reaching effects beyond initial expectations. Instituting passive house principles into the curriculum of a newly established professional degree program was highlighted by the design, construction, certification, sale and monitoring of this single-family home. And while the house is the most visible manifestation, the ongoing influence of the larger initiative may prove to be its most important legacy. This includes a solidifying curriculum that teaches passive strategies, environmental stewardship and professional responsibility, and further establishes the department’s role in community design, leading by example in an underserved region. The cycle of certified houses, established by PH01:BRK, now seeks to enter a self-sustaining mode of developing projects. The PHIUS certified PH01:BRK serves as a model to successor projects that hone technical, budgetary and curricular constraints while continuing the momentum established by the first house. This paper describes the initiative within a pedagogical context, as a forerunner of sustainable building within the regional building industry, and as a political marker in a state that rejects regulation and often the notion of climate change altogether. This cultural condition has even created a difficult framework for the continuation of the initiative within the university itself. This paper also summarizes and speculates on the initiative as a unique pedagogical model for design-build studio and supporting technical and professional coursework. Students were exposed to many of the design challenges that we have come to expect from a design-build studio in terms of process, outcomes, and challenges. This does not diminish the student’s effort and embrace of the project. It does, however, bring attention to the positive effects that have been seen in the resulting curricular and service roles of the department and the recognition throughout the community. This is especially significant in a rural state with no residential energy code and negligible building code enforcement, suggesting issues that go beyond pedagogy and are measured against the region’s cultural and sociopolitical landscape.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.110.5

Volume Editors
Robert Gonzalez, Milton Curry & Monica Ponce de Leon

ISBN
978-1-944214-40-1