A design for a house powered by living algae, drawn up by graduate students at the University of Cambridge, has won a prestigious international competition.
A design for a house powered by living algae, drawn up by graduate students at the University of Cambridge, has won a prestigious international competition.
The “Algae House”, which it is believed could provide a model for future energy-efficient living, would use the hydrogen and bio-mass created by the cultivation of algae as a renewable source.
The design was created by graduate students in the University’s Departments of Architecture and Engineering. It was awarded first prize in an international design competition run by SASBE2009 - the 3rd CIB International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environments.
The competition challenged students to propose a concept of a small home that produces enough sustainable energy to equal out energy consumption.
The winning team, called “Algaetecture”, created the blueprint for a house using in-built algae tubes, photo bio-reactor, to generate hydrogen. A glazing system and water pool are incorporated into the design to mitigate – reflect and cool - the sunlight the algae need to thrive. It is estimated that the house would produce 4,100 KW/h of hydrogen and bio-mass per year – enough to drive an electric MINI E car from London to Beijing and back twice over .
“Algae and people may not present themselves as obvious bedfellows, but through this project we hope to show that the integration of algae as an energy generator within a house is not only feasible, but that it opens up many exciting architectural possibilities for green living,” Karuga Koinange, from the Department of Architecture, said.
The competition, held at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, was organised and sponsored by the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), the Passive and Low Energy Architecture association (PLEA) and the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE). The students presented their work throughout the week long proceedings to a variety of conference attendees, including the Dutch Crown Prince, Willem Alexander whom highly commended the concept.
For more information on the winning ‘Algae House’ design please visit www.algaetecture.com.
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