Progression: Press Room - News Archive

Men and Women of Steel
June 11, 2007

Old Westbury, N.Y. - Put your hard hats and tool belts on, it’s time to build! After more than a year of designing and planning, NYIT’s 2007 Solar Decathlon team is enthusiastic to begin construction of OPEN House, the team’s 2007 Solar Decathlon entry.

Last week, the third and final modular steel structure was delivered to the construction site located in the Midge Karr Fine Arts parking lot on NYIT’s Old Westbury, N.Y., campus. A crane was used to erect the steel frame structure on its foundation. With the three pieces now assembled, only word describes how Student Project Leader Matthew Vecchione is feeling, "anxious."

"NYIT’s Solar Decathlon team has been eagerly anticipating the construction phase of our innovative solar home," says Vecchione, who also worked on NYIT’s 2005 Solar Decathlon home. “This is a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience and it will be very exciting to see our design plans come to life before our eyes.”

The three steel sections—the manifold (or core), open space, and open space roof—were designed to all convene along an east-west axis to allow the house to be easily disassembled and then reassembled for the competition. The steel frame also provides OPEN House’s multiple sections added support during its transport to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Throughout the next few weeks, the team will install the floor and roof structural insulated panel systems (SIPs), frame the walls with standard 2-by-6 foot wood studs, and fill the stud frame walls with polystyrene foam insulation, which expands as it dries. SIPs, which have been proven to be stronger and more energy efficient than conventional framing, are building materials that consist of an insulated layer of foam sandwiched between two layers of structural board.  Next, the team will install the plumbing pipes, electrical wires, and the HVAC (or heating, ventilation and air conditioning) equipment.

"Our goal is to complete the home’s construction, including the interior design, by the beginning of September, so that we give ourselves ample time to run tests on the home before it is disassembled and shipped to the Solar Decathlon," says Matthew Mathosian, architecture team leader.

Solar Decathlon 2007 is Oct. 12-20, 2007. All homes are open for public tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekends, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, except Wednesday, Oct. 17, when houses are closed for competition purposes. More information about NYIT’s Solar Decathlon team can be found at www.nyit.edu/solar. For more information about the Solar Decathlon, visit www.solardecathlon.org.

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