Spring Break
Student pair wins first phase of Smart House competition
Kari Sweisford
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: News
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The first phase of the competition was to design the renovation on the house. It focused of five major areas: Energy, Environment, Interaction, Health and Lifestyle. Each of these components are essential to making the house as green and technology savvy as possible.
While many teams signed up originally, only four teams finished the competition. Noneof the other teams were able to meet the requirements for the house, according to Smart House President Jameson Detweiler.
The round one teams were: Patrick Hoffman and Carly Litofsky; Nicholas W. McDonough; Aleksandra Wolchasty, Darby Kline, Kara Haggerty; and Joseph Andracchi and Matthew McRae.
The runners-up were the team of Aleksandra Wolchasty, Darby Kline and Kara Haggerty. Both teams will advance to the second phase of the competition.
Some of the top requirements of the phase one design included removing the center wall that divides the house, an open floor plan, how many people need to live in the house, the number of guest bedrooms, having roof access and building an extension.
The house will have moveable walls so that it can be constantly changing. The completed structure will house 10 students and one RA, and have two guest bedrooms, Vice President Eric Eisele said.
The second phase will elaborate on the designs, creating two solid plans. The teams will have to develop their plans, refine details, and have engineers create models of the house they design.
Smart House plans to enlist chefs to aid with the design of the kitchen and medical students to help with the health system and speak with psychologists, according to Detweiler. This phase will be completed by the end of the spring quarter.
Many of Drexel's schools and students are involved with the project. The teams consist mainly of architecture and engineering majors, but according to Detweiler, "eventually there will be hundreds of students from every college."
Wilson Bailey of Bettinger West Interiors, Inc. thinks Smart House is a good way for students to work with other students outside their chosen field.
"A lot of individual architecture and engineering people graduate and never interface with other people outside their field," Bailey said.
According to Detweiler, construction on the Smart House will start in 2009 and will be completed in 2010.
It is located on 35th and Race Streets and will start housing students in the fall of 2010. The house was donated by the Student Life Administration Services, according to Eisele.
The Smart House project has been in development for two years and is a full-time job, according to Detweiler.
"Eric [Eisele] and I both have had at least five sleepless nights over the past term," he said.
Eugena Ellis, Smart House Faculty Advisor, said the "students are the most incredible, dynamic, creative students she has ever worked with."
Both Detweiler and Eisele have been involved with the project since its start.
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