To the Santa Clara University Solar Decathlon Team, designing with purpose means designing a meaningful home that does more than create a beautiful living space.
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Traditional homes and buildings account for 30 - 40% of global energy use. By adopting and pioneering innovative solutions to the outdated construction methods of the past, we hope to reduce fossil fuel energy dependence in homes and create the future of indoor environments and buildings that are aligned with natural ecosystems and have a positive impact on human health. We envision taking deep breaths of allergen-free and toxin-free air in rooms illuminated with natural light and powered by clean energy from the sun.
Most importantly, however, designing with a purpose means encouraging the widespread adoption of sustainable lifestyles by designing simplicity in sustainability and developing mainstream appeal in green buildings. In order to make it simple for the largest number of people with the most influence to live as sustainably as possible, we designed our home to appeal to the largest home-owners market in the United States: the baby boomers. If you are reading this, you may be one of them. Celebrate, because the boomers - those mountain biking, yoga-ing, surfing, sailing, 60 is the new 40, 50 is the new 30 types - are reinventing retirement and challenging the country's idea of growing older. Never has being over the hill been so cool, particularly if you live in the SCU home. |
Fly through an interactive 3D model of our home! (click below) Download: Fly-through High Quality (MOV 33 MB) Download: Fly-through Low Quality (MOV 7.8 MB) |
A Contemporary Take on a California Mission
From our fully retractable Nana Wall to our exposed bamboo I-beams to the mission-influenced lighting fixtures, the SCU home embodies the unique spirit of California - its historical missions and fresh outdoorsy spirit - while implementing a state-of-the-art solar array that maintains the look and feel of a traditional home. Quite simply, we are building a house of the future to live in today. Explore our design strategy to learn more about downsizing without losing comfort or elegance.
Download: Complete Drawing Set (PDF 44.5 MB)
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