SOLAR DECATHLON CHINA \\ TEAM PKUI PROJECT ARCHITECT \ ETHO
datong, china \ august 2013
Television Coverage in China:
Video on Beijing TV: http://www.btv.org/btvindex/xw/content/2013-06/14/content_7205733.htm Chinese covers: http://news.ifeng.com/gundong/detail_2013_06/15/26420649_0.shtml http://news.xinhuanet.com/yzyd/health/20130616/c_116158128.htm |
Peking University + University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This project is an undertaking of a team made up of a combined 80 some students from Beijing and Champaign, Illinois. We will be competing in the first ever Chinese Solar Decathlon this coming August 2013. For more information on the competition, visit sdchina.org! Our goal is to design and build a net-zero home that competes in 10 contests throughout a week of competition to take place in Datong, China. Our home, etho, is designed for a family of 3 in rural China, looking to escape the overcrowded cities China has become infamous for. In an attempt to respect and embody the rural Chinese home, we've enforced several design moves to make this reference more apparent. One main design solution pulled directly from our observations while in Datong is the general parti organization of the plan. We greatly appreciated the entry sequence with a courtyard and wall to privatize the house, physically and emotionally removing the residents and visitors from the busy public space beyond. In many homes, there were exterior courtyards, either within the home or just out back. We wanted to recreate this feeling with an interior space that felt like an exterior courtyard through material selection and multi-functioning pieces. The dining room acts as a courtyard during the day and transforms into a dining room when needed. In general, our goal is to redefine the Chinese urban, and even, rural landscape and the perception of single family living. In a country struggling to deal with manufacturing, pollution and over-densification, etho will not only benefit the family living in it, but it will benefit their neighborhood and in turn the country as a whole. |