Grantee: Syracuse University
Principle Investigators: Roger Hubeli & Julie May Larsen
Year: 2019
Project Number: 2019.023
Status: COMPLETED
Concrete masonry in residential construction is an area of improvement for the industry. Creating tools and resources that can be used by design teams for residential construction – especially urban infill projects – will provide new opportunities.
Program Details:
The project was the first two phases of a four phase project to develop a comprehensive design for an adaptable, affordable CMU house that serves as a living classroom. The project has three main goals:
- One, to provide a platform for outreach opportunities to connect the CMU industry with the local community.
- Two, to create a project that serves as an educational tool, both during the design and development of the house as well as during the construction. Especially during the design phase architecture and engineering students will garner more awareness of masonry construction through hands on experiences designing with CMU. This will help to make students in Architecture and Engineering at Syracuse University more aware of how to design and construct CMU structures.
- Three, to help stimulate the market in residential construction for masonry. The project will include a series of deliverables for the proposed structure from schematic design through a complete digital model for the building, cost estimate, and educational videos.
These deliverables are made available throughout the industry to illustrate the viability of concrete masonry in the affordable housing market, and especially for Habitat for Humanity projects. The project will also demonstrate strategies to engage students and professors in several different concentration areas. The majority of the project will be completed through the architecture department of Syracuse University, but will also engage mechanical engineering students to do energy modeling.
Currently, phases 1 and 2 of the project have been completed, with deliverables posted. Phases 3 and 4 are intended to be completed in 2020.