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AAEE in Partership the USA Science & Engineering Festival presents
The Sustainable Dream House Contest
Introduction
As the world population continues to rise, with no slowdown in site, so does the demand for existing natural resources such as water, oil, coal, natural gas, energy, wood (paper), metal ores, minerals, etc., to support that growing population. We all know that an endless supply of natural resources does not exist, something has to give! We as the human race have to start learning to do with less and to begin learning how to be more efficient and reuse what we have. If we do not, we will find ourselves in the very near future struggling to provide basic services for the world population.
The American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE) as the leading organization of environmental engineers, believes that it is vital that we raise the awareness of the next generation to these critical issues and by so doing get them to start brainstorming ways in which we all can save and use our natural resources more efficiently and wisely.
Challenge
So what can we do? We can start to think about how each one of us can contribute, in our own way, small or large, to saving, conserving, and /or reusing those important natural resources that we touch or use in our daily lives. To get our young future adults to recognize what this could mean, and understand where they might be able to take steps to make a difference, AAEE has come up with the following challenge:
Design a residential home that a family of four could comfortably live in that takes advantage of sustainable design concepts such as energy efficiency, reusable natural resources, the sun and much more. Please consider where you can apply these concepts to selecting:
- Construction building materials (e.g. concrete, wood framing, etc)
- Home decorations (example, rugs, paints, wallpaper, furniture, etc.)
- Energy
- Supply (Where does it come from; How is it generated?)
- Usage (around the house)
- Water
- Supply (Where does it come from? How is it treated?)
- Usage (in the house)
- Communications and data infrastructure (e.g. phone, computer, etc)
- Heating and Air Conditioning
- Household Waste Products
A submittal shall consist of:
- Either a 24x36 inch poster that can be rolled up or photograph of a scale model of your "Sustainable Dream House".
- A table including a listing of all sustainable design features in the house and an explanation of why it is sustainable, and its function/purpose within the house.
- A written discussion (1,000-2,000 words, typed and double spaced) of:
- how you can live comfortably within the house using the features you have designed.
- cost and benefits of designing an environmentally "sustainable house".
- Names and ages/grades of everyone involved on the project.
- Name of the school and supervisor/project coordinator.
Each project may be submitted by either an individual or a group/class. If a group/class submits on a project, we suggest that the group/class be broken up into sub-groups to work on individual areas of the house.
Projects must be submitted by September 15, 2010.
We will have two categories that will be judged separately:
- Middle School (Grades 5 through 8)
- High School (Grades 9 through 12)
The top winner in each category will get a chance to present their submittal in Washington, D.C. during the USA Science and Engineering Festival - Expo on the National Mall, October 23 and 24, 2010. For more information regarding the USA Science and Engineering Festival and the Expo on the National Mall, please visit their website at www.usasciencefestival.org. The AAEE will sponsor one child representative, one school representative, and one parent from the winning submittal. Winners will be invited to attend the Expo on the Mall along with their projects and be prepared to explain their work and answer questions from the people passing by and participating in the Expo. Individual details will be worked out with each winner.
Enter
Click here to download full contest rules and application form for the AAEE Sustainable Dream House Contest. or email at SustainableDreamHouse@aaee.net
Be a Sponsor
Click here to be a sponsor of the AAEE Contest! Donations are tax deductible!