Virginia Tech has a great football program this year, but the team that gets me stoked is the squad of architectural-engineering students competing in both the U.S. and European Energy Solar Decathlons, the only U.S. team to do so. The challenge: to build the most attractive energy-efficient house. The solution: The Lumenhaus.
I don’t know whether or not there’s a mass market for the 800-square-foot house, even one as cool as this — Americans love their square footage like they love their cars — but many of the concepts described in the video are bound to enter the marketplace. I’m especially intrigued by the notion of “responsive architecture,” made possible by new information technologies.
Go Hokies!