The fact that a new housing project is under construction on the Hudson River waterfront in Hoboken might not seem new to residents. But the house under construction next to the Sinatra Park soccer field is being built by students from the Stevens Institute of Technology and other area colleges, and is one of 20 entries in a global competition that will serve as a model for future sustainable housing construction.
The new home will have a “Passive House” label – the toughest international energy standard to meet. It contains solar panels on the roof to cut electricity costs, as well as other cost-effective ways to go green.
Ninety percent less energy is used in the home than a typical American home.
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The house under construction by a group of about 30 students is scheduled to be shipped to Washington, D.C. at the end of August to be judged in the international contest.
After the house is judged, it will become part of the Deanwood neighborhood in D.C. Habitat for Humanity, which helps build homes around the country for low-income families, will choose one such family to live in the new home.
The idea was born in 2009, when students from Stevens, Parsons New School for Design, and Milano’s New School for Management and Urban Policy came together to apply for the contest.
From concept to realization
Erich Rau is a Stevens graduate student who will soon receive his master’s degree in mechanical engineering. “It started out more as a conceptual idea,” Rau said last week. “But now we’re building it to an energy standard called Passive House. It’s the most rigorous energy standard in the world. There is 90 percent less energy than a typical American home on a square foot basis.”
Carly Berger, a graduate student at Parsons New School for Design, said this type of construction can be completed by any home builder.
“We’re mixing sustainability with affordability,” Berger said. “By putting solar panels on the roof it will generate a lot of power and we’re essentially saving the families thousands of dollars in electric bills every year.”
Berger said a goal of the contest is to change the way housing is built in America.
“We tried to make our details simple, and the products and materials we’re using are available on the market,” Berger said. “We’re not developing a system that is impossible for homebuilders…we’re using things that consumers can buy right now.”
The project involved a lot of planning, students said last week while working on the home.
“We presented the idea to the Department of Energy,” Rau said. “I’m not sure how many schools applied, but we’re guessing around 50, of which 20 proposals were picked. We found out in April 2010 that we would be in the competition.”
Rau said there are cost constraints in construction.
“The less expensive your house is, the better off your entry will be for the competition,” Rau said.
He recently accepted a job offer to design and build power plants.
Project brought media exposure to Hoboken
“We’ve done news interviews in D.C., on the local New York NBC, and ABC,” Rau said. “There have been a lot of reporters here.”
The project has approximately 30 students from the schools working together, racing to finish by Aug. 26, when the home will be shipped down to D.C. to be on display on the National Mall as part of the contest.
“Deanwood has a thriving porch culture,” Berger said. “We were down there in June, and there were a lot of people on their porch talking to their neighbors. We think it’s a very important part of the community so we’ve provided a large porch for the new family.”
Rau said students have been working 12-hour days, seven days per week at the construction site.
The home is currently located south of the Skate Park on Sinatra Drive and north of the Sinatra Park soccer field.
The project is funded by private and public sponsors.
For more information about the project and the Hoboken team, visit http://www.empowerhouse-dc.org.
Ray Smith may be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com