Spring Break
Students design Smart House
Lindsay Rogers
Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: News
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Drexel students are about to embark on a large scale renovation of one of campus's abandoned properties.
The former Pi Lambda Phi fraternity house was donated to the Smart House program by
Senior Vice President of Student Life and Administrative Services James Tucker and the Division of Student Life and Administrative Services.
The program is based on a home design competition that began about nine weeks ago. Students have been working in teams of three to create a design that is not only livable, but will also emphasize five principles: environment, energy, interaction, health and lifestyle, according to the Smart House official web site.
Jameson Detweiler, president and one of the creators of the Smart house project, said the competition was started as a way to improve the living environment that exists today. Also, it was meant to give students a chance to work alongside students from other majors whom they would normally not work with.
The old Victorian house, a 4,500 square foot duplex, is located on the Northeast corner of 35th and Race Streets.
Tony Dominick, the Powelton Village Civic Association president, wrote in an e-mail that the Smart House will be a good reuse of the vacant house.
"Because the Drexel Smart House is using an existing house in the neighborhood, any new technologies demonstrated in this one house can act as a model of what can be applied to many of the houses in the neighborhood," Dominick wrote.
Detweiler said the student teams had to look at each of the principles and incorporate them into their designs. They had to make the house environmentally better by finding ways to use leåss energy, making the technology in the house easy to use, finding ways to keep the house healthy, and making the house a workable environment as well as a place of leisure.
The official design contest will end Nov. 2. According to Detweiler, no major fundraising has taken place, but he has asked for grants from private and corporate sponsors.
The Smart House should be completed by 2011, Jameson said.
The former Pi Lambda Phi fraternity house was donated to the Smart House program by
Senior Vice President of Student Life and Administrative Services James Tucker and the Division of Student Life and Administrative Services.
The program is based on a home design competition that began about nine weeks ago. Students have been working in teams of three to create a design that is not only livable, but will also emphasize five principles: environment, energy, interaction, health and lifestyle, according to the Smart House official web site.
Jameson Detweiler, president and one of the creators of the Smart house project, said the competition was started as a way to improve the living environment that exists today. Also, it was meant to give students a chance to work alongside students from other majors whom they would normally not work with.
The old Victorian house, a 4,500 square foot duplex, is located on the Northeast corner of 35th and Race Streets.
Tony Dominick, the Powelton Village Civic Association president, wrote in an e-mail that the Smart House will be a good reuse of the vacant house.
"Because the Drexel Smart House is using an existing house in the neighborhood, any new technologies demonstrated in this one house can act as a model of what can be applied to many of the houses in the neighborhood," Dominick wrote.
Detweiler said the student teams had to look at each of the principles and incorporate them into their designs. They had to make the house environmentally better by finding ways to use leåss energy, making the technology in the house easy to use, finding ways to keep the house healthy, and making the house a workable environment as well as a place of leisure.
The official design contest will end Nov. 2. According to Detweiler, no major fundraising has taken place, but he has asked for grants from private and corporate sponsors.
The Smart House should be completed by 2011, Jameson said.
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