s.ky blue information
The Solar Decathlon is a project of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in partnership with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
s.ky blue house
The University of Kentucky architectural design response to the 2009 Solar Decathlon presents an optimized living and learning environment that actively engages the landscape through an integrated design approach. This holistic design motif demonstrates a range of integrated possibilities for site-malleable and contextual solutions for living under the sun today.
The final scheme is fully ADA-compliant and makes strong reference to the Kentucky vernacular while integrating forward-thinking innovations into its boundaries. The result is a striking design based upon an open and porous loft concept anchored by the home’s hearth — the kitchen core and a series of seamlessly integrated outdoor rooms that envelope the house to form an engaged landscape.
The team's entry is captured and expressed in its architectural design that blends the beauty, simplicity, and passivity of various elements of historic Kentucky vernacular and local materials with modern active energy-efficient systems and technologies. In short, the house is eclectic and syncretistic, historic and modern. It is a combination of human-made and natural energy sources controllable by the house inhabitants to create the desired living conditions for all seasons and the integration of indoor-outdoor living spaces.
The Kentucky entry is designed as the catalyst for a number of significant projects aimed at bringing solar and sustainability-oriented architecture to the Bluegrass and beyond. Although a strong design is currently being developed and constructed, in a larger perspective, this endeavor would lead to the development of a process and system that will have an ongoing presence long after the 2009 Solar Decathlon has been completed.
