Solar Integration
When looking around at solar installations on buildings today, too many seem to be an afterthought to their original design, a feature installed at its proper angle with little thought to its integration with the building as a whole. While in many cases, this may be »
Solar Decathlon Competition 2011
Today building efficiency is all the buzz, yet too often we are all talk. We are excited by the new technologies that are on the market today, and as students we apply these notions to our projects in theory or in a controlled environment. Not until you have a real »
The Solar Decathlon: It's More Than A Competition
The Solar Decathlon is known worldwide for its public display of renewable energy, as well as the educational value for participating students and visitors of the homes during competition week. What we too often forget »
The Flexibility of Choosing Steel
The Solar Decathlon not only challenges its students to design and build a sustainable home; they also ask them to transport their houses to Washington, D.C. where they will be displayed again this year on the »
Smart Facade
Typically, energy efficient construction is thought to necessitate dense, highly insulated walls to reduce heat transfer between the interior space and the outside. The Living Light house proves just the opposite, making extensive use of glass for transparency, »
Living light
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville was chosen as one of the 20 teams to compete in the Solar Decathlon 2011 competition. Pursuing low energy, a small footprint, and maximum use of daylighting and passive design strategies, the team chose the concept Living Light for our home. The home is a retreat from visual and physical clutter while integrating technology seamlessly into the design. The rich timeline of developments in climatic design and energy research within the State of Tennessee have also been a primary source of inspiration for the Living Light concept. Through our analysis we developed a 6 simple strategies that drove our design for the competition.
Living Light: Walkthrough
Only one week before the 2011 Solar Decathlon houses will begin assembling on the National Mall’s West Potomic park in Washington, D.C. The homes will make their debut on September 23rd and be open to the public until October 2nd displaying sustainability and »
on 7th Sep 2011
Living Light: Engineering
The second in a series of videos for the Solar Decathlon describes the systems of the Living Light home. We are proud to say that there is not a component of the house that does not integrate design and aesthetics with functionality and performance. This engineering »
on 29th Aug 2011
Living Light: Architecture
The Solar Decathlon competition encourages teams to create videos documenting the many cutting edge ideas that are incorporated in their homes. The first of Team Tennessee’s video series is an overview of the architecture of the Living Light house, documenting »
on 23rd Aug 2011
Living Light Interiors
One of the defining aspects of the Living Light interior is that it challenges the way we think about a traditional home, adopting a loft like space in a stand-alone home. Rather than dividing the house into separate partitions devoted to different uses, the interior »
on 15th Aug 2011
Mr. Photon Educational Videos
With education being at the forefront of the Living Light endeavor, we want to provide ways to reach people of all ages and educate them about our home and sustainability. Enter Mr. Photon. Mr. Photon is the mascot of the Living Light house whose mission is to educate »
on 30th Jun 2011
Light Brings Life To The Living Light House
The Living Light house uses glass for transparency, day lighting, and views to the surrounding environment. Alternating translucent and transparent panes allow for views of the landscape while maintaining a sense of »
on 5th Jun 2011
Solar Integration
When looking around at solar installations on buildings today, too many seem to be an afterthought to their original design, a feature installed at its proper angle with little thought to its integration with the building as a whole. While in many cases, this may be a »
on 19th May 2011
Smart Facade
Typically, energy efficient construction is thought to necessitate dense, highly insulated walls to reduce heat transfer between the interior space and the outside. The Living Light house proves just the opposite, making extensive use of glass for transparency, »
on 10th May 2011
Living Light Construction Celebration
It has been just over 1 year since the Department of Energy officially announced the list of university teams chosen to compete in the Solar Decathlon 2011. On Tuesday night, sponsors, colleagues, friends, and family »
on 24th Apr 2011
Living Light Video Walkthrough
The Living Light home responds to local culture and climate, offering a zero net energy alternative to standard housing in Tennessee and beyond. We took as a challenge the development of a home that is primarily glass while maintaining an airtight envelope that is »
on 16th Apr 2011
Dueling Cores
The University of Tennessee’s Living Light house incorporates the knowledge and expertise of our state’s past and present to create an environmentally responsive, comfortable home to meet the needs of Tennesseans today. The Living Light home is inspired by the »
on 11th Apr 2011