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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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)... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
snow in the backyard The weather in Norris this winter has felt almost spring-like, with the exception of the past week. Temperature highs have been in the low to high 50s, and the forecast for the coming week is for more of the same—highs in the mid 50s and lows in the 30s and 40s... View full entry
The year 2011 is drawing to a close, and a short reflection back on our first few months in the New Norris House reveals what we learned and what happened during that time. Similar to any new residence, there was a period of familiarizing ourselves to the house and the systems inside it. Some... View full entry
The past few weeks have been busy with end of the semester activities—final papers, tests, and presentations. The fall semester is over and now it’s time to enjoy the break and the holidays before classes begin again in January. There’s no snow on the ground yet, and with a... View full entry
After several months of research and continued efforts from TDEC and the college of Biosystems engineering we finally collected our first set of water supply samples! We have been working to create a custom list of contaminants to test for based on our source, rainwater, and our goal of providing... View full entry
It’s a clear, crisp Thanksgiving Day in Norris. The rain from the first half of the week has moved on, leaving us with sunny skies today. Most of the trees have lost their leaves by now, and their branches fan out against the sky. view of trees today while seated at kitchen table On this... View full entry
Doors are symbols of new beginnings, opportunity, transitions, the unknown, and mystery. Doorways are often a precursor to the personality of a space, leading one to anticipate or imagine what might be inside. Entry doors are practical and functional, essential for controlling what comes in and... View full entry
When it comes to adding new plants to your landscape, most people think spring is the best time to plant. While some plants do well when planted in the spring, many plants, including trees and woody shrubs, benefit from fall planting. Trees and shrubs that are installed in the fall ultimately... View full entry
Autumn is here, and leaves are turning and falling. The riot of color outside changes a bit every day. Brown, red, rust, orange, yellow, and ochre leaves are mixed with green grasses and shrubs, and collect in piles when they fall. from green to red to orange to yellow Last week as I stood on the... View full entry
We are pleased to announce that the project was awarded an AIA East Tennessee Honor Award! Congratulations to all those involved, and thank you to all our supporters! On towards the state competition now... www.thenewnorrishouse.com View full entry
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single house in possession of occupants, must be in want of plenty of closed storage space.* Although the house has a relatively small footprint, we’ve found the cabinets and closets provide just enough storage space for the two of us (just... View full entry
Before talking about the latest New Norris House happenings, I should introduce myself. My name is Eric Bennett, one of the Graduate Research Assistants for the New Norris House. I am currently in my final year of the Master of Architecture program at UTK. I received my undergraduate degree in... View full entry
View out picture window in kitchen I made my first visit to the Norris House in June, at the end of the build part of the project. Finishing touches were happening inside—assembly of the bed platform, installation of bathroom shelves, sewing of slipcovers for the furniture cushions. The... View full entry
Our rainwater harvesting, treatment, and distribution system was put together by the BRAE rainwater group out of North Carolina. As part of our ongoing partnership, BRAE released this promotional video a few days ago describing the rainwater system as installed in the house. Enjoy! BRAE... View full entry
BRAE Rainwater Harvesting at The New Norris House
Now that our water systems are up and running, it's time to begin the monitoring and analysis process. My task as a graduate assistant is to formalize a sampling and analysis protocol for testing water quality on both the supply side and the waste water side. A little about me: My name is Valerie... View full entry
Greetings from the New Norris House residents! We’ll be living in the house for the next year, and want to introduce ourselves to you. Who we are --- Ken McCown and Mary Leverance, married for two years. We moved to downtown Knoxville almost a year and a half ago, and to the New Norris... View full entry
The New Norris House project is a design/build effort from the University of Tennessee. Begun in the fall of 2008, an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students (led by the College of Architecture and Design) has recently completed the construction of the home. This blog will focus... View full entry
A Video Tour of the New Norris House
Time-lapse: Five Day Clayton Fabrication
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.
