Washington — Students at the University of Calgary wanted to design and build a solar-powered home that did more than save energy.
It also had to offer an alternative to the housing Canada’s indigenous people had long been stuck with: poorly constructed, publicly funded homes that did not meet their needs.
Team Canada’s solar home, the students agreed, had to accommodate the lifestyles and values of their designated client group: Canada’s First Nations in the western province of Alberta and other communities of aboriginal descent. Their home, which will be on display at the Solar Decathlon 2011 in Washington in late September, will show a design that combines old with new, and tradition with the latest in renewable energy technology.
“Part of our exploration has been to examine whether there are certain aspects of First Nations’ lifestyle that could inform the design of the home and lead to better connections between the user and the home,” said Johann Kyser, an environmental design student and member of Team Canada.
“For example, if you look at a northern community, they might have a substantial amount of caribou in their diet and they might dry the meat in the home,” he said. “But there’s nothing in [today’s] homes allowing them to do that in a healthy, safe or conducive way.”
To get it right, the students embarked on a challenging and long journey that involved consultations with cultural and spiritual advisers from the native First Nations, local housing and infrastructure managers and the community at large. In all, the students worked with half a dozen groups, each of which weighed in on the various design options.
“It’s been extremely challenging,” Kyser said of the two-year solar home project. “It was really important for this project to reconcile different perspectives and different worldviews. What’s carried us through is the firm belief that what we’re doing is important and meaningful.”
The project passed a major milestone in December 2010 when the solar home was blessed by the former chief of the Piikani Nation, Reg Crowshoe, during a traditional ceremony.
Team Canada is using locally sourced materials such as canvas, fur and wood for its home, along with ochre color schemes typical for native communities in the area. The home has a modular design, which means it can be expanded or diminished to meet changing family needs.
The team also gave the solar house a low, rounded profile that makes it fit in with the foothills and plains of western Canada. The shape resembles that of a turtle, which inspired the home’s name — TRTL, short for Technological Residence, Traditional Living.
In the native Blackfoot language, the home is known as Spo’pi, which also means turtle.
A computer-animated look at Team Canada’s entry is available on YouTube.
