Design Build Bluff is well under way on this semester’s project, Rain House. We are a full house this semester with 20 students from UC Denver and 2 from Southern Utah University Engineering department. This collaboration of universities has been an exciting adventure for our program.
This semester’s recipient is Lorraine Toney and her five children. The project required special attention to programming due to her family size so the budget for this house was set at $29,000 to accommodate the families basic needs. The student’s found a successful way to solve the design problem of building for a family of 6 using a minimal footprint. The main concept was to allow the house to have enough amenities and space. Their concept, the ‘Bar Box’, is a linear rectangular form that provides spaces of sleeping and living while the intersecting box provides the main utilities including bathroom, laundry and storage. The final design is 1200 SF with 3 bedrooms to allow Lorraine privacy as well as separate the female and male children.
Unlike any other DBB house, this house is being constructed of concrete walls. This has been a fantastic experiment for both the students and staff. Thanks to Big-D Construction we were able to acquire the necessary concrete form work to begin the build. Over the course of the design semester, the students collaborated with the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado to model the house design in their energy software called Energy Plus. This software allowed the students the opportunity so see how their house will function in both winter and summer. The house was designed to passively heat in the winter strictly by solar gain. With 20% glazing on the south facade, the concrete floor will absorb enough heat to radiate throughout the night. It is critical to have what we are calling nighttime insulation. This will essentially be interior window shades that block the heat from escaping during the nighttime hours. During the summer, the roof shading will prevent any solar gain from entering the house. Studies show the house to be 60 degrees during they winter and 70 degrees during the summer.
The concrete wall is highly detailed with a 3” exterior concrete veneer, 3” rigid foam and 6” interior concrete structure. Student’s worked with Thermomass to detail the wall to ensure that the thermal break will keep the interior properly insulated. The student’s completed sample after sample to achieve the color of concrete they wanted. The final mixture includes sifted site sand, white and gray portland cement, aggregate and red and brown concrete dye. The concrete is being poured in 12” lifts to achieve a horizontal look resembling the aesthetic of rammed earth. We have already poured the entire east end and were thrilled to see the final color and horizontal striations.
We will be starting our 3rd session with completing the west concrete wall that will be followed by the interior framing and roof framing. We are on schedule and working away through rain and shine. This fall has brought plenty of heat and plenty of rain!
