Zero energy, sustainable dwelling competition
Competition entry, February 2011
The assignment was to create a small scaled dwelling that respects the environment by using renewable energies and sustainable design principles. My approach to the assignment was keeping things simple by using less material as possible and occupying a small amount of terrain to reduce the financial and environmental footprint.
Sustainable architecture could be interpreted as giving back nature the resources used in the process of building. Just like a tree that uses carbon dioxide and gives back oxygen, the dwelling intends to give back nature the sources it uses. An example would be the water circulation: rainwater gets collected from the sloped roof, get stored in the water tank to be used as clean water, then the gray water is reused to water grass or any plants around the building. With the same principle, the dwelling takes advantage of other natural resources, but without consuming more than it gives back.