The house now sits on the former Kentucky Trailer site which the public can reach through an entrance off Third Street just south of Eastern Parkway. Soon, however, the team will disassemble it and truck it to Irvine, Calif., to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2013 Solar Decathlon. The team is one of 20 from around the world that will be in this year’s decathlon.
Team Kentuckiana’s entry is an energy-efficient, wood-and-steel-framed modular prototype two-bedroom residence meant to serve as a sustainable, permanent housing solution after natural disasters. The team chose the socially responsible design after last spring’s damaging tornadoes in Kentucky and Indiana and named it Phoenix House after the mythical bird symbolizing rebirth and hope. The house is designed to be durable, affordable, rapidly delivered and capable of producing more energy than it uses.
For more than a year, the team, which includes students and faculty from UofL, Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and the University of Kentucky, has been supported in its work by UofL’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering; Ball State’s College of Architecture, Interior Design and Construction Management programs; UofL’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research; UofL’s College of Business; UofL’s College of Arts and Sciences (communication and English departments); and UK’s School of Engineering.