Project Description
2012 RADA
Single-Family Housing / Merit
To mark the anniversary of the model homes that were part of the Norris Dam construction project in Tennessee, A team of students and faculty from the University of Tennessee reinterpreted the structures with Green Materials, Building Science, and Prefab Technology. Our judges were awed with the results: “Super elegantly done,” one said. “A really refined vernacular application that lifts it to another level.”
The original Norris home was an example of Modern, Affordable and Efficient Living. It had a small footprint and was built in various styles, says Samuel Mortimer, A member of the project team. A New Norris House builds on that tradition, adds Tricia A. Stuth, AIA. “These houses are historic and forward-looking,” she says. To exploit modular technology, The home is largely prefabricated and features a completely sealed shell stuffed with batt insulation and wrapped with 1-inch-thick foam board. The team sited the structure for solar gain and included rainwater harvesting and graywater recycling.
Despite its modest lineage, the home is not austere. The designers outfitted the interior with recycled wood flooring and built-in cabinets, and clad the home in a metal roof and a wood rainscreen. The result “is simple architecturally but rich,” one judge said.