winners of the solar decathlon: lumenhaus

the ‘lumenhaus’ by virginia tech at the villa solar in madrid, spain image courtesy of design training

after 10 days of competition, the team from virginia tech and their design ‘lumenhaus‘ has come out on top at the first european solar decathlon in madrid, spain.

‘lumenhaus’ is an 800-square foot modern pavilion that was influenced by the ‘farnsworth house’ designed by bauhaus architect mies van der rohe. with the exception of the centrally located bathroom core, the design of the house is an open floor plan with sliding north and south walls to double its floor size. this flexibility allows for a number of different spacial and programmatic configurations as well as natural lighting and ventilation.

solar energy is harvested through bifacial photovoltaic panels (PVs), a type of powerful PVs that can increase energy output by up to 15 percent. to maximize solar energy collection, the angle of the panels can be seasonally adjusted from zero degrees to 17 degrees using an electric actuator. other sustainable features of the house include a radiant floor heating system, geothermal heat pump, recycled and environmentally-friendly materials, and a computer interface that allows the homeowner to manage the micro climate through a smartphone.

the LED lighting system at night image courtesy of virginia tech

the ‘eclipsis system’ pulled out image courtesy of virginia tech

a key component to the house’s design is what the team calls the ‘eclipsis system’. capable of running automatically, it is made up of two independent sliding layers: the ‘insulating panel’ which is a translucent polycarbonate panel filled with insulating aerogel to protect the interior from weather conditions, and the ‘shutter shade’ which is a reinterpretation of the traditional shutter system, made up of a stainless steel panel laser-cut to make tabs of different sized circles. the perforation and the angles at which the circles are bent back are based on an algorithm which was written for the site-specific requirements of the interior programs on matters of optimal lighting and privacy.

the shutter shade image courtesy of virginia tech

the LED lighting system at night image courtesy of virginia tech

image courtesy of virginia tech

the aerogel panel features a system of LED lights that run on the energy collected during the day to light the outdoor space. other components to the multi-layered walls are bug screens, glass doors, and sliding muslin curtains, all of which can slide out to open up the house completely to the outside.

image courtesy of virginia tech

biofiltering landscape image courtesy of virginia tech

image courtesy of virginia tech

‘lumenhaus’ integrates a water-filtering system into its architecture and surrounding landscape. the sloped roof collects and filters rainwater for drinking while greywater goes through a series of bio-filters for non-potable reuse (such as flushing of toilets).

perforated shutter shade screen image courtesy of virginia tech