Solar Decathlon 2011: EmpowerHouse Collaborative
Milano and the New School Solar Decathlon Team: Empowerhouse Collaborative Team, a community-based approach to affordable and sustainable housing
About Empowerhouse Collaborative
Empowerhouse Collaborative is a team composed of students and faculty from a variety of disciplines including architecture, engineering, policy, and management, representing Parsons The New School for Design; the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy; and Stevens Institute of Technology. The team is partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C., the District Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Groundwork Anacostia, and the Deanwood community (a neighborhood in DC Ward 7) to design and build a two-family home that will be a model of affordable net zero energy housing and can be easily replicated.
2011 Solar Decathlon Competition
In September, Empowerhouse competed in the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored Solar Decathlon, a two-year international college competition to build a solar-powered home. The competition is divided into five juried and five measured contests: Architecture, Market Appeal, Engineering, Communications, Affordability, Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Home Entertainment, and Energy Balance. Empowerhouse placed first in the Affordability contest, a category included in the Solar Decathlon for the first time.
Next Steps
After the competition, the Empowerhouse team is moving the house to the DC neighborhood of Deanwood; there it will construct a second home with the assistance of DHCD and Habitat for Humanity volunteers. The mission of Empowerhouse Collaborative is to create a house that will serve as a model for affordable, sustainable housing that can be replicated around the globe.
The Solar Decathlon is an example of the kind of real-word project that is explored in the new MS in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management program.
Related Courses
Fall 2011
Sustainable Urban Communities: Solar Decathlon
Independent projects
Spring 2011
Community Development Finance Lab
Elements of Finance
Sustainable Urban Communities—Solar Decathlon
Sustainable Urban Communities Research
Fall 2010
Sustainable Urban Communities: Solar Decathlon
Community Development Finance Lab
Elements of Finance
Marketing in Nonprofit Organizations
Program Evaluation for Nonprofit Practitioners
Summer 2010
Large Group Interventions
Spring 2010
Fundraising and Development
Fall 2009
Managing the Client-Consultant Relationship
For more information about the Solar Decathlon, contact empowerhouse@newschool.edu.
For more information about the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, contact milanoadmissions@newschool.edu.