Refract House – Intelligent Green Design by Silicon Valley Undergraduate Students
Today I visited SCU to check out the Refract House that undergraduate students of Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts designed and built. All I can say is, wow, what a monumental task and great example these students have provided for Silicon Valley! A Zero-Energy Home is the wave of the future and today I saw an example designed and built by students, who will soon be our young hip designers of Silicon Valley.
The thought put into this 800SF home makes it feel like at least 1500SF since ingenious techniques were used like hidden light fixtures, gentle angles, opening window walls, half walls to separate the rooms, soft colors and fabrics, all used to enhance the sustainable materials throughout the home.
These students designed in key green building features such as location of home on the lot, climate control management, photovoltaic cells, energy management and water systems. The home is amazingly thought through and I applaud the students for being a great example of what modern, responsible living can look like. And you may be surprised, it is very fashionable, comfortable and not at all “weird”.
This home will leave Santa Clara in a few weeks to make the trip to the 2009 Solar Decathlon Competition, in Washington DC. I wish these students the best of luck and will be rooting them on here from Silicon Valley as a fellow SCU engineering graduate as well as green-conscious EcoBroker.
Read SCU’s post on this project as well as visit the project website: http://www.refracthouse.com/
* CBS NEWS coverage, Learn about IPhone features and see inside the home.
Search this Home Owner Experience Real Estate Blog for more “green” topics.
