The first thing you notice about Team New Jersey’s ENJOY House is that it’s concrete—almost entirely concrete. "One of our strategies was to show the public that although the wood industry has greatly reduced costs in the housing industry, there are other technologies, such as precast concrete, available," says team leader Jennifer Switala. "Precast concrete is durable, more sustainable, mold resistant, and lasts longer than your typical stick-frame house." The ENJOY house features a large, dramatic roof (which weighs 200,000 pounds and measures exactly 18 feet at its highest point—the competition’s maximum), which was angled to create an inverted hip for collecting rainwater. The home also makes use of a large 40-panel, 8.8-kilowatt PV array, with one microinverter per panel. A separate 30-tube solar collector heats water for domestic use and for the home’s hydronic radiant floor. The structure was among the competition’s priciest, but Switala says that a production house could be built for less than $200,000. Intended mainly for retirees along the New Jersey shore, ENJOY was designed to be extremely low-maintenance and ADA-accessible.
Estimated cost: $389,303.55
