CRETE House

Update: Team WashU’s CRETE House tied for second in the Architecture contest of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017.

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. Billions of tons are produced annually.

But for the 2017 Solar Decathlon, “we wanted to demonstrate a new approach,” said Dylan Weber Callahan, a master’s candidate in both architecture and construction management at Washington University in St. Louis. “We wanted to show that concrete could be used in more sustainable ways.”

Over the last two years, more than 100 students from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (InCEES) have worked with industry partners to design, fabricate, and now finally construct CRETE House.

The solar-powered, 995-square-foot residence—which is currently being assembled on the University’s North Campus—is built almost entirely from pre-cast concrete. Water coils embedded within the floors and ceiling, rather than a traditional HVAC system, provide heating and cooling. Large gutters foster shade and direct run-off to a hydroponic garden capable of feeding residents for much of the year.

“Concrete is extremely durable, so we have a very resilient house,” said Ethan Miller, likewise a master’s candidate in Architecture and Construction Management. “We also took into account, in the steel connections, seismic forces, so that this house will not only be able to withstand tornados and hurricanes, but also earthquakes.”

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the biennial Solar Decathlon challenges university teams from around the world to design and build full-size, energy-efficient houses. This year’s competition will take place Oct. 5-15 in Denver.

Students will spend the next several weeks at North Campus, completing initial assembly and testing and refining systems. In September, they’ll take the house back apart, drive the components to Denver, and reassemble the house on site. After the competition, CRETE House will be permanently installed at the university’s Tyson Research Center as a residence for visiting scientists.

“Concrete is typically used on larger commercial projects,” Callahan concluded. Yet the material’s durability, thermal properties and ubiquity could also hold the key to making residential construction more sustainable.

“We wanted to create a catalyst for how concrete might be used more efficiently in the future.”

For more information about Solar Decathlon, visit solardecathlon.wustl.edu or follow Team WashU on Facebook and Twitter.

Hongxi Yin, InCEES, Sam Fox School

Pablo Moyano, Sam Fox School

Ryan Abendroth, Sam Fox School

Tim Michels, Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering

Chenyang Lu, Engineering & Applied Science

Steve Bannes, construction management

Anova

Architectural Design Guild

Ben Hur Construction

BFW Contractors

Blomberg

Bon Appetit

Chicago Contractor’s Supply

Clayco

Continental Cement

Ductal

Duane Precast Inc.

Eisen Group

EnCon Design

Energy Resources Group

Enterprise Precast Concrete

Filtrexx

Frieze & Associates

Gate Precast

Gibbons Crane Rental

Hard Rock Concrete Cutters

HydroTemp

Icon Mechanical

InXpress

Kohler

LafargeHolcim

Lombard Architectural Precast Products Company

McMillan Cabinetmakers

Metro Lighting

Nawkaw

PCI Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute

PCI Foundation

Peak Building Products, LLC

Pitzman’s Co.

Rocky Mountain Prestress

Sika Corporation

St. Louis Prestress

St. Mary’s Cement

Sumiden Wire Products Corporation

SunPower

TAKTL

Tarlton Corporation

Texas Design Concepts, Inc.

The Portland Cement Association

The Unico System

Thermomass

Uponor

U.S. Formliner

Votorantim Cimentos

Wieser Concrete

Winco Windows