Architecture students from Rice University have unveiled their newly-completed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in Houston, Texas. Designed by Rice alumni Madeleine Pelzel and Kati Gullick during their time at the university, the 640-square-foot ADU was ultimately built in real life over a period of three years.

The solar-powered structure is split by an outside breezeway reminiscent of traditional Texas Dogtrot dwellings, with a living room and kitchen on one side and a bedroom and bathroom on the other. The Dogtrot form dates back to the era before air conditioning, designed to encourage natural ventilation and shading. Separating the living and sleeping elements of the home also allows for more precise energy use, rather than heating or cooling the entire unit simultaneously.

To create the scheme’s unique roof structure, the students used a computer-controlled mill to print plywood plates, connecting the roof and walls at precise angles. The roof’s gentle slope also gives the home’s solar panels maximum possible exposure to the sun.

The design project was brought to life by the school’s Construct program, which allows Rice students to design and build projects in collaboration with local community groups. A total of 63 students worked on the project over five semesters and two summers, including design, drawing, permitting, and construction.

“It is both a design-build program and a research arm of Rice Architecture, integrating cutting-edge scholarship in digital fabrication with the delivery of socially-minded building prototypes to our Houston communities — in this case, housing, which is so deeply needed in our city,” said Igor Marjanović, the Dean at Rice Architecture.

Following the scheme's completion, the team will now begin constructing an additional ADU designed by fellow Rice students Siobhan Finlay and Adam Berman. In the future, the team will also revisit the newly completed scheme to examine its real-world performance.

The ADU by Rice students and alumni is one of several ADU projects to be featured on Archinect in recent months. In February, we covered the unveiling of what has been dubbed the first community of 3D printed, recycled plastic homes, which sees 14 prefabricated ADUs constructed in Ridgecrest, California.

In March 2021, meanwhile, we speculated on possible futures for the ADU typology in California, following a move by Los Angeles officials to pre-approve more than a dozen ADU designs through its ADU Standard Plan Program.