Newswise — From environmentally responsible design criteria to building performance and environmental impact, architecture students at the University of Virginia are learning the importance of stewardship of our resources and how to incorporate environmentally sound principles in design.
A leading expert on sustainable and modular building practices, Quale is leading a multi-year research and design/build project at the University of Virginia School of Architecture called ecoMOD. Over the next several years, U.Va. students and faculty are designing and will construct several 1,000 to 1,250 square-foot ecological, modular and affordable homes.
According to Quale it is widely known that prefabricated building techniques can save time, money and materials, the potential environmental benefits of this method are largely unrecognized by the industry. Off-site construction can significantly reduce the energy required to construct a building.
The first ecoMOD house - the OUTin house was completed in Charlottesville, Va., in partnership with Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA). The U.Va. School of Engineering and Applied Science is a partner for both ecoMOD1 and ecoMOD2, which is currently under design. One of six Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville (HFHGC) projects for Katrina relief housing, ecoMOD2 will be product of a unique student / faculty effort. Quale, who serves as project director, is producing the schematic design. He is working with a team of graduate and undergraduate architecture and engineering students to develop the ecoMOD2 design and build the environmentally responsible panelized house kit. Engineering Professor Paxton Marshall is coordinating the work of the engineering students. The house kit will be fabricated at a decommissioned airport owned by the University, and then shipped to Biloxi, Miss. by the end of the spring 2006 semester.
Quale also served as the architecture advisor / coordinator for the 2002 U.Va. Solar Decathlon Team, a national design/build house competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.Va. team won 1st Place in the Design & Livability event of the 2002 Decathlon, and 2nd Place overall.
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