This semester I am part of an exciting studio. After the success of the partnership with Habitat for Humanity in completely the Solar Decathlon house, Habitat of Philadelphia has partnered with SCE. With 4 teams of 4 students, we are designing 4 separate housing schemes - by the end of the semester Habitat will have 4 viable options to select from to build on their site (maximum 7 house) in Philadelphia. Our challenge is 3-fold: we are designing to passive-house standards, affordability/construction cost are a top priority, and the lots are very narrow (we are designing as small as 14-foot wide homes). Our team is investigating 4 and 5 house options with public space between the homes. In this project, literally every inch counts. As a lighting design student, I hope to add value through the integration of daylighting and electric lighting design, which up to this point, could not be a priority for Habitat.  In early March we will travel again to Philadelphia to share our design progress with the local community group and Habitat for Humanity. The goal is to offer Habitat a level of design/investigation that will progress their future housing projects as well as show how Passive House design is affordable to build and in the end, better for the user and the environment.