duke smart house...

location: Durham, NC
est. completion date: TBD
project team:
Frank Harmon
Erin Sterling

computer renderings provided by:
Jeremy Ficca

project statement...

The Duke University Pratt School of Engineering will soon be the proud owners of a smart building located on Duke's Central Campus. The Duke Smart House will double as a residence and a testing ground for eight engineering students who will monitor the mechanical and electrical systems within the house and conduct their own experiments to develop further innovations in environmental building technologies. As a living laboratory, the Duke Smart House will offer students a unique opportunity for hands-on engineering experience outside of the classroom and will demonstrate to the community the potential for living in a smart house that is both energy efficient and in harmony with its environment.

progress...

The Duke Smart House will be positioned on its site to respond to the grid of the existing neighborhood and to maintain a southern orientation for ideal solar experimentation. The house's form will be a simple, flexible shell to which various green technologies can be attached via an access rack on the southern side. Those technologies include photovoltaics, green screens, and rainwater cisterns. The roofing system will include a vegetated or green roof, solar hot water panels and a skylight that will allow natural light and fresh air into the main space below. All of the site's storm water runoff will be collected and stored in cisterns and a bio-retention pond, which will act as a natural filter for the runoff before it is absorbed back into the earth.

The plan is comprised of a central open space, which will be ideal for public activities, with laboratory stations interspersed throughout the house. The students' sleeping areas will flank the open space and be separated from the public spaces by a functional core that will include bathrooms and smart walls. The smart walls will be accessible vertical chases that contain plumbing, mechanical and some electrical equipment. Perimeter walls and ceilings will be equipped with removable panels to allow students access to utilities for monitoring and adapting various technologies over time.

The project is currently in the pre-construction phase.

Click here for more information about this project.