Office Animals

Recently, our office at the Harris Farmhouse has been attracting wild animals. In the past week, we have encountered multiple snakes, frogs, insects, and other creatures around the premises. Most surprisingly, we discovered that a small family of feral cats has been living under the foundation of the building. The two kittens appear to be around eight weeks old and their mother is quite protective. Since feline overpopulation is a pressing problem in Addison County, the local Humane Society came over and set up traps to catch, spay/neuter, and administer shots to the cats. From there, they will either be socialized and adopted as domestic pets, or released back to their original outdoor site. Adding to the animal excitement, one of the team members decided to adopt a Humane Society kitten that had been saved from a similar situation. His name is Frizby Bixby, and his upbeat presence in the office has quickly earned him the official title of Team Mascot.

Timber Framing in Bensonwood

SD Spotlight: Team member Wyatt Komarin shares insights on a recent excursion...

"After a two-hour drive along country roads on a glorious June day, we arrived at Bensonwood Homes in Walpole New Hampshire. Bensonwood is well known for their timber framing, but they have grown into a sophisticated design/build organization comprised of architects, engineers, and craftsmen, with an emphasis on sustainable homebuilding,

Upon our arrival, were greeted by Hans Porschitz and Kevin Bittenbender (a Midd alum!), who are responsible for panel design and woodworking, respectively. After describing our Solar Decathlon House to them, Hans and Kevin provided us with suggestions for transport methods, construction systems, and relayed some pros and cons of SIP construction.

Tedd Benson himself popped in to the meeting, a spirited man, and full of wisdom about timber framing and building.

A tour of Bensonwood's workshops followed, where we witnessed skilled woodworkers form beautiful timber beams. The greatest revelation came in the panel building workshop, where Bensonwood builds complete panelized wall sections of their design. We were particularly impressed with these panels, and the potential to use a similar construction system for our house."

Bensonwood from Midd SD on Vimeo.

New House Name: "Self-Reliance"

After speaking with Team Appalachia about sharing the same house name, we decided to come up with a new one. We let “Solar Homestead” go, and began brainstorming. Several potential new names have been proposed and debated, but team member opinions vary when it comes to how we should verbally express our design. In June, the most popular student-generated name was Harvest Home. Although well received by most, it faced some potential copyright issues, and the team felt like it didn’t quite click. Our faculty advisor suggested that we consider using an active verb in our name, and assured us that it was OK to stray from convention. We kept thinking.

One day in early June, after a long hot day of work, several team members went to a nearby swimming hole to cool off and unwind. Immersed in nature, and relaxed by the water, the name discussion re-surfaced. As a result, the group came upon a name that encapsulates several key aspects of our target homeowner’s lifestyle – growing food, generating electricity, and living lightly on the planet. The suggestion, “Self-Reliance,” also represents the Vermont identity of being self-sufficient and self-sustaining in the face of challenging geographic and climatic conditions. The term grew on everyone, as we all realized that it broadly, yet precisely, embodies what our home stands for.

A subsequent question arose: how would we incorporate that term into the title? Would it be called The Self-Reliance House? Self-Reliance Home? Or simply just Self-Reliance? With our website in the works, we must commit to a particular way of branding our project and be consistent throughout our promotional materials. For now, we'll keep it simple: Self-Reliance. We especially admired Team New Zealand’s house name of “First Light,” which is fresh, original, and free from cliché words like “green” or “sustainable.” Hopefully, our newest name will be a hit!

New Computers Arrive!

New Computers from Midd SD on Vimeo.

Hot & Humid

It is hotttt here in Vermont - nearly 100 degrees during the day! For work breaks, team members huddle in the one little air conditioned room of the building. Window shades and a network of fans are keeping us cool, so we can stay focused.

Harris Farmhouse: designing the new in the old

Until recently, the Harris Farmhouse was shut up tight, used for storage with no future. The Middlebury Solar Decathlon is bringing it new light. A dozen student decathletes who are dedicating their summer to the project have established this building as their new headquarters. A little cleaning, some pin-up board, and some MiddKid energy and the old farmhouse becomes the perfect space in which to design the new farmhouse.

Students have been working on design, construction plans, engineering, safety plans, website, communications, fundraising, and every other aspect of the project in a consolidated space where every group member is available to assist the other aspects of the project. integrated design at work! Design strength in our Liberal Arts approach!

The Harris Farmhouse is located at 803 College Street, next to the College Recycling Center and windmill. Students are normally around weekdays from 8 to 4, sometimes more. There's a permanent project display set up; come on by, sign the guest book, and talk to student leaders about the up and coming Solar Decathlon 2011!

SD Workshop in Washington DC

Last week, we traveled to Washington DC for the SD Schematic Design Workshop (May 21-23). On Friday evening, Richard King (SD Founder and Director) gave an opening presentation to welcome us all to the Solar Decathlon community. Saturday began bright and early. We ate breakfast together, then arrived at our team table by 8am. Looking sharp and feeling energized, we were ready for the day. The schedule was structured around 20 informational sessions, each with at least one DOE representative who rotated tables to introduce him/herself, offer design feedback, and answer questions. We covered topics from DC electric to health and safety, and the affordability contest to web design and event planning. By 6pm, we were finished with the sessions. After a long day of absorbing information, we ate some yummy BBQ food, then hit the hay.


On Sunday morning we headed over to the National Mall to meet up with the Health and Safety Officer for a tour of our site. It was really exciting to see our lot (#7) in person and envision all the hours we'll be spending there in 16 months. Then we visited the National Building Museum to see the Solar Decathlon exhibition of the 20 finalists. We met up with several alumni to share our project and show them our model and display board. It was neat to speak with former students and embrace the Middlebury College community. It was also fascinating to see the other teams’ models in person – the design strategies are quite distinct and diverse. After the exhibition visit, it was time to head home. All in all, the DC workshop made for a great trip; it was quick, jam-packed with useful resources, and exciting to meet everyone face to face.


Now, with a core group of students back at Midd, it's time to get back to work. Priority tasks include: initiating creative and effective fundraising efforts, designing our team website, and choosing a new name for our house (Team Appalachia had the same name of “Solar Homestead”). Our next submission deadline is August 17th for the website (minimum of 3 text pages), and the next SD conference will be in January in Florida. The momentum is building and so is our to-do list, so stay tuned for more updates as our project progresses. And as always, thanks so much for your support – we really appreciate it!