Passive Home Design, PerFORM[D]ance House by Florida International University

Passive design strategy increases this home value, this home design applies some home technologies and features make it more efficient in energy using. Its Interior design mostly combines in white and widely constructed that provides more space and remembers to the suitable with exterior.

Inspired of Paul Rudolph’s Cocoon House, it incorporates lightness and open spatial. It also incorporates tropical design including louvers, flat roof and expansive horizontally. The unique house features such as operable louvers that protect against hurricane-force winds, a fully retractable glazing system and an exterior deck, and Bio-remediating beds. And some technologies and strategies include cross ventilation, shading canopy, a ductless air conditioning system, system automation (sensors, timers, and remote controls), monitoring capabilities, a reflective white exterior. This house’s design was created by team of Florida International University solardecathlon.fiu.edu as an entry of U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

perFORM[D]ance House by Florida International University:

Team website: solardecathlon.fiu.edu

"Florida International University's U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 entry, the perFORM[D]ance House, responds to its environment, its inhabitants, and its use. Its open pavilion design links the interior with the exterior through a layered façade and integrated landscape, and operable louver panels open to extend the interior space and expand the livable space to the exterior. The ever-changing configuration is driven by environmental conditions, resulting in an interactive performance that showcases sustainable strategies and technologies.

Design Philosophy

The design of the perFORM[D]ance House incorporates lightness and open spatial continuity reminiscent of Paul Rudolph's Cocoon House. The house incorporates key elements of tropical design, including louvers, a continuous flat roof, and an expansive horizontality.

Features

The perFORM[D]ance House features:

·         Operable louvers that raise and lower as needed for privacy, shading, and protection against hurricane-force winds

·         A fully retractable glazing system on the windows that provides relief from the heat and humidity of South Florida

·         An exterior deck with a garden and biofiltration pond

·         Bio-remediating beds that treat storm-water runoff collected from the roof using native landscaping that filters sediment, reduces runoff, and oxygenates water.

Technologies

Florida International University's house is an elegant hybrid of technology and design that achieves livability and sustainability using:

·         Passive design strategies such as natural cross-ventilation, canopy shade devices, and daylighting to reduce demand on mechanical systems

·         A ductless air conditioning system that uses micro-climate zoning to increase comfort while decreasing load

·         Sensors, timers, and remote controls to provide system automation that increases efficiency and reduces operation and maintenance costs

·         A weather station with monitoring capabilities that allows homeowners to monitor energy production and use, solar panel performance, and water consumption

·         A reflective white exterior to reduce cooling demand.

Market Strategy

The perFORM[D]ance House was designed for a Hispanic-American couple whose children are off in college. Juan Gonzalez is a self-employed contractor and green building advocate. Alice Gonzalez is a former art history professor who has an illness that requires her to use a wheelchair. These empty-nesters have always wanted to retire to the sunny, subtropical climate of Miami, Florida.

What's Next

After the house returns from Solar Decathlon 2011, it will be installed on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus of Florida International University in Miami. The perFORM[D]ance House will support the university's Office of Sustainability by serving as a visitor center pavilion and promoting the university's mission for sustainability."