WAAC students design building for national competition

academics 2:18 WAAC students design building for national competition

By:

Craig Newcomb

19 Mar 2024 561

A group of students at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC) are designing housing with sustainability at the forefront. They have advanced to the final stage of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge based on their cutting edge, zero energy building design. The studio led by Susan Piedmont-Palladino, is a mix of graduate, 4th year undergraduate, and exchange students. The WAAC students are finalists in the multifamily building division and will compete at the hybrid Solar Decathlon competition event, April 19–21, 2024, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

This semester we're working for the Solar Decathlon from the Department of Energy. They propose a project that has to be net zero. And for this semester, we were tasked to do a project that was close to our campus. We're working on a multifamily building for ourselves. And then your team has to come up with a solution of a building that is net zero. We want WAAC Haus to be a beacon in Alexandria for sustainability, community and design. It's been really interesting looking at a project like this because there's so much more that goes into it than just what does the building look like, what's the layout of the floors. The impact that certain design decisions have on other aspects of the project. That has been really insightful for me, and that's really the main reason why I picked this studio was because I wanted to get a feel for what that's like. And what that's like to learn to work on a project like that together. The dynamic of doing the Solar Decathlon is very similar to how you work in a firm. Everything's very collaborative. I think the great thing about this project is that not only is it teaching us how to design a net zero building that's cost efficient, that's also beautiful, that's also achievable by every metric. It also, I think, brings into play all of these ideas at the same time. So you're not just learning how to do any one thing. It's really the balance of trying to bring them all together in one. It's been a great experience. I came here to be challenged, so I'm very grateful. Usually studios are really stressful because you're by yourself. But this time we are a whole class, 13 people that have different personalities. Everybody's fun to be around and we're always joking and it can be stressful. But I also like as the team leader, can know that I don't have to do it by myself. One of the greatest things about the WAAC and Virginia Tech in general, is just that it opens doors for you. It gives you a more interdisciplinary approach into becoming an architect.