Refract House Wins Architecture Honors In Solar Decathalon

The Refract House, a green living home built entirely by students, placed first in Architecture, successfully proving their message that Green Living isn't a compromise in the US Department of Energy's 2009 Solar Decathlon.


above: The public tours the international U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, featuring energy-efficient, solar-powered houses built by 20 university teams from North American and Europe, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009.(Credit: Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

Although Team Germany won first-place overall, and Team Illinois took second, Team California's REFRACT HOUSE also placed first in Communications, second in Engineering, and third in Market Viability. That's not all... they placed in four out of five subjective judgments, and in the fifth one, Lighting, they placed sixth out of the 20 teams.

You can view high res photos of all the homes and the event here.



The Refract House was designed, built, and managed completely by undergraduate students. Team California consists of students from the California College of the Arts (CCA) and Santa Clara University (SCU). Their Refract House featuring Thermablok’s new "aerogel" insulating material placed third overall among 20 universities from around the world all vying to design, construct and operate the most aesthetic, energy-efficient, and self-sustaining solar-powered house.

A jury of professional architects praised the Refract House, calling it "beautiful in every respect," and applauding Team California’s student architects and designers for its "excellent project documentation, crystal-clear concept, and successful translation of regional architecture."

Take a look.

Renderings and plans:






The models (in which you can see how it changed).
final model:

earlier model:

The final constructed home in Washington D.C. for the event:





Now, tons of images of the home on its initial build site (prior to being moved to Washington DC for the event).

Exterior:








general interior shots:




Kitchen:




The living room:





bedroom:



bathroom:




all images courtesy of the Refract House, their blog and flickr group.

To learn more and about all the amazing implementation, go here.
You can view many photos from their flickr group here.

Pinc House: Scandanavian Modern Housing & Prefab Developments

Pinc House is all about bringing life into style. An Ittur Group owned company in Sweden, they conceive of, create, develop and build housing developments, prefab homes and projects that are modern, sustainable and great-looking. Here are a few of their impressive accomplishments and projects.

The Sport:





Above: their original model home, the Sport range are available in two categories, "Leisure" and "Residence" with sizes ranging from 20 to 160 square meters.

Boxland:



Above: Boxland was developed in 2007 for HSB Helsingborg. This project consists of 33 box like homes, 15 green grass ping pong tables, 29 magnolia trees and one exceptional living environment.

SeaPoint:



Above: Seapoint consist of 16 semi-detached contemporary villas overlooking the ocean and situated in a secluded yet very accessible maritime resort near Stockholm.

Delight 66:



Above: The award winning prefab home collection is now technically being redeveloped by the Ittur Group, one of the largest privately owned groups in Sweden, and will meet EU technical and energy standards.

The Black Barn Project:






Above: A luxurious and simple interpretation of the ancient Long House, the Black Barn, is made of a material called black calcimine and has a tarred roof and visible wood beams. It has many bedrooms, lots of storage space and is ideal for a family. It's affordable, stylish and even has an exclusive spa facility.


About Pinc House:
The Pinc House Design Team runs a Concept Development Studio within the company – a specialized, internationally acclaimed, high-profile business unit with innovation, evolution and emotion as core values.

In 2003 they launched their first (highly acclaimed) prefab house model. That was the start of their very own little crusade for stronger visions, better houses and higher quality of life for ordinary people.

Within the Ittur Group, Pinc House is now responsible for all larger (one to three stories high) housing projects. Be it row houses, semi-detached houses, vacational homes or villas. Rentals, condos or freehold. From a genuine (innovative and ambitious, but always sustainible, always conscious and always long-term oriented) overall master plan, concept and specific target group analysis, they develop larger areas and turn empty land into attractive residential landscapes.

Besides working on their own projects, they are here to help other developers turn their visions into reality – and their ideas into profit. With a powerful platform provided by the Ittur Group they offer a highly industrialized building process, a truly cost-efficient perspective, a high level of customer support and all the experience and resources necessary to keep their promises.

They provide a one-stop shop for the entire operation, regardless of scale, budget and time frame. They can offer a comprehensive one contract commitment, a full guarantee agreement, a shared responsibility or limited activities – all depending on the nature and conditions of each project and the demands from their clients.


contact info:
Pinc House® Stockholm
Pinc House AB
Nackagatan 4
116 41 Stockholm
Tel: 08-442 79 00
Fax: 08-442 79 01
Mail: info@pinchouse.se

Pinc House® Skåne
Pinc House AB
Hesslegatan 3c
291 31 Kristianstad
Tel: 044-20 36 90
Fax: 044-20 36 911
Mail: info@pinchouse.se

See all of their work here.