Detail of North House south facade, with automated shades open
The North House was an opportunity to collaborate with academia and industry in order to advance research in mass custom prefabricated housing technologies, in hybrid passive and active energy systems, and, most robustly, in the technology and performance of environmentally responsive envelopes, inclusive of the role of informed inhabitants in managing the energy profile of a building. Dynamic, responsive facades - especially ones that target energy use optimization, energy production and climate adaptive automation - are currently at the forefront of architectural research for commercial buildings. Yet the questions surrounding such technology uptake for residential building design are often quite different, and include the incorporation of appropriate technologies, functions and interfaces, as well as issues of individual comfort and expectations of building/inhabitant relationships. To this end, a tripartite suite of interdependent systems and technologies were developed by the team; (i) DReSS: Distributed Responsive System of Skins, (ii) CHAS: Central Home Automation Server, and (iii) ALIS: Adaptive Living Interface System. North House was the product of an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional design research project to develop a full-scale prototype of a net energy solar powered residence optimized for cold climate applications. In addition to advancing This research was led by Geoffrey Thün and was a collaboration between professional, academic and industry partners, and an inter-institutional team engaging faculty and graduate students from the University of Waterloo, Ryerson University, and Simon Fraser University. The house has received multiple awards and recognition for its technological and architectural innovations. A full team and consultant listing can be found at: north house team.
Distributed Responsive System of Skins (DReSS) - components
The components of the North House DReSS are a hybrid of active and passive technologies and include two-stage operable exterior venetian shading, high performance glazing, interior blinds and floor-integrated phase change materials along with building integrated photovoltaics on the exterior cladding.
Exterior shade configuration scenarios
Active exterior shading located on the exterior of the envelope was critical to the overall performance of the system as it blocked solar energy outboard of the building envelope, eliminating heat buildup within the glazed assembly. The controls system manages the shading to prioritize passive thermal management based on sensor data. The exterior shade configuration scenarios (above) are based on relative exterior environmental conditions, and related responsive envelope reactions that formed an operational logistics framework for the development of the home automation system.
North House custom wood curtainwall development - plan details
The high performance floor to ceiling glazing system for the North House was quad-glazed and Krypton filled, comprising of two 6.5 mm sheets of clear low-iron glass sandwiching two sheets of Heat Mirror 88 (HM-88) mylar films. Low emissivity (low-E) coatings were placed on glazing surfaces 3, 5, and 7, with selective transmittance values engineered to maintain a moderate Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) across the four layered assembly. The resulting IGU had a center of glass insulating value of R12 (U-value of 0.474 W/m2K), a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient of 0.404, and a Visual Transmittance of 0.5434. To further minimize heat transfer through the system, a custom wood curtainwall system was developed (through multiple iterations with performance model feedback) incorporating aerogel spacers and extruded nylon face gaskets.
Overview control architecture of CHAS and interface with ALIS and the DReSS
The Central Home Automation System (CHAS) manages energy production and grid connection with the mechanical demands of the North House HVAC system and responsive envelope. The design of the Adaptive Living Interface System (ALIS) simplifies occupant use of complex HVAC, energy production and responsive envelope components. The system combines a didactic control interface with ambient feedback, allows remote operation via smartphone technology, and links to social networking sites for communities of solar home owners.
The intent of the ALIS (Adaptive Living Interface System) is to address the social and human element of sustainable buildings, to educate inhabitants about energy efficient practices and to support intelligent home use through design. It delivers meaningful performance feedback across a range of didactic, haptic and ambient formats and is integrated within the design of the house to be reflective of the lifestyle of those who inhabit it. ALIS comprises three types of user interface components; (i) active touchscreen control panels distributed throughout the house; (ii) a web application, extended to a smartphone application for providing detailed graphic information feedback and advanced control options; and (iii) an embedded display that provides feedback in subtle, ambient formats.
ALIS control touchscreen (above) and feedback interface screenshots (below)
Feedback is used to support long term behavioral transformations by identifying and supporting living patterns that save energy and resources.
'Ambient canvas' haptic performance feedback display in kitchen
The ‘Ambient Canvas’, located at kitchen backsplash beside the main control touchscreen, delivers continuous non-quantitative real-time ambient feedback on the home’s performance through visual cues. This compliments the other forms of didactic feedback comprising the ALIS system while also acting as an aesthetic element in its own right. It is made of a series of LED rope lights mounted behind a translucent Corian® surface. The LEDs glow with varying intensity in different zones according to net-energy consumption/ production and water consumption, and their appearance can be customized through the ALIS.
