Architecture students from UWM will join 32 other teams competing in the Race to Zero, April 16-17 in Denver.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Race to Zero is a design challenge to encourage college students to develop homes that are truly sustainable. The goal is to design a house that is so energy efficient that renewable power can offset most or all of its annual energy consumption.
UWM’s architecture students partnered with engineering students from UW-Madison to prepare a design for the competition.
The design the team is submitting is done in a prairie craftsman style, familiar to Milwaukee residents, but also includes extra insulation and solar energy features to reduce energy use. The students were also asked to design a home that would be affordable.
One goal is to eventually use such designs in areas – like the 30th Street corridor in Milwaukee – in which low-income homeowners may be able to afford a house, but are challenged by high utility bills. Professor Mark Keane of the School of Architecture & Urban Planning is leading the UWM team, including doctoral student Nasim Shareghiboroujeni; graduate student Laurelena Valdivia; and undergraduate student Jonathan Nelson.
