We are very excited to share that the New Norris House Project has been named by the AIA's Committee on the Environment (COTE) as one of the Top-10 Green projects of 2013! This award is one of the most prestigious in architecture in the US, and recognizes “exemplary and innovative built projects that establish a standard of excellence in sustainable design, demonstrate its benefits, and educate both the profession and the public.”
This is enormous honor would not be possible without the tireless efforts all those involved! Check out our revamped website for more information about the project: www.thenewnorrishouse.com
A variety of coverage around the COTE Top-10 Award:
http://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/projects-you-should-know--the-2013-aia-cote-top-ten-green-projects.aspx
http://www.wired.com/design/2013/04/10-greenest-buildings-2013/
http://www.ecobuildingpulse.com/awards/2013-aia-cote-top-ten-green-project--new-norris-house.aspx
http://www.aiatopten.org/node/280
From Wired:
"These features are being seamlessly integrated into the design and not being treated like gizmos," says Hosey. "They don't jump out because they're being folded into the design." An example of that is the New Norris House which was constructed from wood reclaimed from a hundred-year-old barn and fitted out with super efficient heating systems, but just looks like a modern home, which might be the biggest win green design has enjoyed so far."
AIA COTE Jury Comments:
"One of the things we appreciate about this little house was that it was one of the few projects that really looked at the manufacturing process holistically and actually how a residence could be delivered on site in a really economical way and in a way that conserved energy. We appreciated the prefabrication dimension and also the historical references to the older Norris houses in the site that surrounds it. This type of residence could be replicable so it could have a far greater influence than just a single house."
"It’s a house that performs pretty well and is pretty affordable and solves some of the combinations of problems we are looking at with regard to affordable housing."
Thanks for your interest!
We are very excited to share that the New Norris House Project has been named by the AIA's Committee on the Environment (COTE) as one of the Top-10 Green projects of 2013! This award is one of the most prestigious in architecture in the US, and recognizes “exemplary and innovative...
As mentioned in the previous post, the project team performed an experiment to observe the NNH's ability to resist winter temperature fluctuations with all heating and cooling systems turned off. Samuel recorded the data, and I recorded the experience of three winter days and nights with the heat...
Earlier this week the project team began a seasonal experiment to test the passive performance of the envelope to resist exterior temperatures fluctuations over the course of 72 hours (3 days). To complete this study, the heating and cooling systems are completely disabled for the...
A winter storm swept across much of the southeast today leaving a blanket of snow on the New Norris House. Here are a few photos from this beautiful, snowy afternoon:
Last week, the New Norris House made an appearance at the TN Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Conference in Nashville, TN. The presentation was geared toward landscape architects, and focused on our landscape design and water harvesting and treatment systems. We...
The New Norris House is featured on the DIY Network as part of a series on space-saving, sustainable design! Check it out! Photo credit: Jason Kisner / diynetwork.com
It's hard to believe but August 2012 marked our one year anniversary of occupancy at the New Norris House! The upcoming year of residency and evaluation has just begun, and I'm excited to serve as the 2012-2013 resident. My name is Valerie Friedmann, and I have been part of the New Norris House...
It’s hard to believe that our year of living in the New Norris House is over. During our time there, it was a bit like living in a lab; our energy and water usage were monitored, and we tested the design and systems installed in the house. Although we’ve moved out, there are several...
Hello friends, It is with pleasure and excitement that I invite anyone of interest to "attend" a webinar presented by the New Norris House team as part of the AIA Housing Knowledge Community. Here is a link to the event, which will take place November 5th, 9-10am PT. Registration is...
As part of our water system evaluation, monitoring efforts have recently been expanded to include a greywater (water from the bathroom sink, shower, and clothes washer) component. Here we will not be monitoring quality (as we are with rainwater), but rather soil saturation of the greywater bed...
The past week in Norris has been sizzling hot, along with many areas of the country that have been experiencing excessive heat and drought-like conditions. We’ve had heat advisories almost every day for the past four days; temperatures have been in the low 100s, and humidity has hovered...
Not long after moving to Norris, we were driving around town and saw a rafter (or gang, if you prefer) of wild turkeys walking through a field. As a newcomer to the area, I did a double take—were we really seeing turkeys?? I’ve seen them again on several occasions and while it...
The garden was planted a little over a month ago, and I’m amazed at how fast things have grown. Since this is the first garden I’ve ever had, I don’t have a point of reference for plant growth patterns; I suppose they’re growing at typical rates that just seem fast to me...
This weekend we planted the first half of our native grass meadow. The plan goes like this: 1) to suppress weeds, spread cardboard and staple to the ground with landscape staples 2) mark the plant locations on 2' centers 3) dig, dig, dig 4) plant, water and wait. This is a slightly experimental...
One of the rooms in the house that hasn’t been mentioned often—yet gets daily use—is the bathroom. With the bathroom being the top water user in the house, the water features installed here are helping conserve water in several ways. The New Norris House was built with a...
One of the goals of the New Norris House is to have a positive impact on the local community. We recently hosted a second grade class from Norris Elementary. The kids were really excited to see what they are learning in school being applied in the local neighborhood. After taking two...
Clearing the community path and separating seedlings Nothing feels more like Spring than planting a garden, and at the New Norris House that's exactly what happened this weekend. Mary, Eric, and I spent some time doing general yard maintenance, and we also planted the raised vegetable beds. The...
The New Norris House wall assembly utilizes advanced framing techniques and a rainscreen wall construction. Constructed of Atlantic White Cedar (AWC), the cladding of the house uses natural materials much like those found on the original Norris cottages of the 1930‘s. Atlantic...
It is our pleasure to announce that the New Norris House project has been selected for a Residential Architect Design Award! We have been awarded a Merit Award in the Single Family Housing category. Of over 800 applicants, only 36 were chosen as winners. This is a tremendous honor which we are...
One day after the first day of spring, flowering plants are already in bloom, grasses are growing, and insects are buzzing. It’s a beautiful time of year in this part of the country! The winter was the fourth warmest on record, and plants are coming out of dormancy sooner than usual. Most...
In East Tennessee, the last expected freeze date is April 15, but it already feels like spring! With the warmer weather approaching it's time to start making preparations for the installation of the Phase IV landscape - the native grass meadows. Be sure to look for an upcoming post outlining the...
Out of all the rooms in the New Norris House, the kitchen gets the most use. The majority of our meals are eaten at home, so when it’s time for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack we head to the kitchen. Every day we use the cabinets, cooktop, counter, sink, and fridge—and have the...
Check out some of the new photos just uploaded onto http://thenewnorrishouse.com/photos.htm. New finished exterior, interior and site photos have been added as well as some photos of the events that have taken place on site. As Spring is quickly approaching, we are beginning to set up more...
Dear Archinect, Today is the last day to nominate (preliminary voting) projects into ArchDaily's Building of the Year Awards. Please help us move into the top-5 in the Residential category! There are 855 other houses up for the award, so we only have to out-nominate 850 to make the top...
Although the town of Norris is pedestrian friendly, traveling outside town limits requires transportation by car. While living in downtown Knoxville, we didn’t rely too much on our cars. Ken could walk, bike, or ride the trolley to the university. Since I telecommute, the only driving I did...
Here is a snapshot of the preliminary energy data received from our eMonitor system. The eMonitor is connected to each of the home's circuits and allows us to remotely see real-time energy use. Before the home was constructed, the energy use calculations for the New Norris House (1008 sf)...
Pedestrian-friendly. Clustering of commercial areas. Front porches. Smaller yards. Urban-growth boundaries. Many who are in city planning today envision these characteristics as part of an ideal community. Back in 1933, those ideal characteristics were built into the town of Norris. Originally...
Last week, an afternoon thunderstorm knocked the power out at the house. I was working at the time, and I depend on an Internet connection in order to connect to a remote work computer. The outage was short—only an hour—but it’s obvious how electricity is a necessity nowadays...
Here is a link to an article published last month in PHC News. The article focuses on the rainwater harvesting system at the New Norris House. Credits have been earned in all LEED for Homes categories and we expect to earn 12 out of 15 credits in the Water Efficiency (WE) Category. 4 of these...
The New Norris House is a design/build effort from the University of Tennessee's College of Architecture and Design. Began in 2009, the home was designed and built by UT students in collaboration with Clayton Homes. The built project is now complete and the final phase of the project has begun. A team of 4 people (2 living in the home, and 2 graduate researchers) will rigorously document the experience via qualitative assessments and quantitative measurements, posting results to this blog.
