Project Summary #4 (REVISED)
New York Institute of Technology Solar Decathlon 2005
Green Machine/Blue Space
August 8, 2005
Team organization and contacts:
Note: Approximately 150 people (students, faculty, sponsors, volunteers, and family members) are involved in this project.
Architecture and Design:
Logistics /CFO
Green Machine
Breezeway
Blue Space/Transportation/Site Ops
Construction Management/
Transportation/Site Ops
Interiors
Energy Management:
Heather Korb
David Bulatowicz
Mike Catalano
Mike Fahie
Bill Brady
NYIT B ARCH ’07 h3ath3r_k@yahoo.com 631 523 5615
NYIT BSAT ’05) bull1152000@yahoo.com 631 332 1828
NYIT B ARCH ’06 plastered9@aol.com 631 398 6906
NYIT B ARCH ’06 mrf@casarchitects.net 516 807 3171
NYIT BSAT ’05 wsbrady@optonline.net 631 365 1616
Jerry Stramowski
Mary Merges
David Schieren
NYIT B ARCH ’06 stramoje@yahoo.com 631 523 5326
NYIT BFA ID ’05 marymerges@aol.com
NYIT M.S. Energy Mgmnt ’06) dschiere@nyit.edu
917 620 9333
Lead Engineer, Mechanical
and Electrical Systems
Gregory Sachs
Safety Officer
Chris Locovare
United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA),
Alternate Power Program Project Manager
Sachsg@usmma.edu 516 509 3912
NYIT M.S. Energy Mgmnt ’06 blackslax@aol.com
631 647 5008
Communication Arts:
Website, Communications
Lawrence Yu,
Documentation, Media Relations
Shana Lerner
Digital Imaging, Photography
Computer Animation
Culinary Arts/Hospitality:
Scott Kraft
Ceasar Bonventure
NYIT M. Comm Arts ’06 lawrence.c.yu@gmail.com
631 334 2210
NYIT M. Comm Arts ’06 shanafl@hotmail.com
850 597 2567
NYIT M. Comm Arts ’06 scott@sakraft.com 516 639 0709
NYIT A.O.S. Culinary Arts ’06 cebo418@aol.com
631 943 1864
Green Machine/Blue Space:
The philosophy of our design is to tread (build) lightly on the earth. We view humans and earth as
one sustainable ecology. Green Machine, a re-used shipping container, is globally oriented and
supports all that is necessary to sustain life. Green Machine holds our power plant: an electrolyzer
that separates water into oxygen and hydrogen and a fuel cell that transforms hydrogen into
electricity. Blue Space is indigenous to its locale and gathers power from our natural world
through roof mounted photovoltaics.
Recapitulation:
Since Project Summary #3, February 8, 2005, the energy team has made significant progress. Greg
Sachs, Project Manager for the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Alternative
Power Program has joined David Schieren and the Energy Management Team to become the
lead engineer in the design and implementation of our power systems.
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Our fuel cell, an in-kind contribution from Plug Power arrived in April and was commissioned July
15th. Our electrolyzer arrived in early July and was commissioned on July 27th. In celebration that
night, the team visited David and Greg in the laboratory and toasted their accomplishment with
the plastic tasting (but, we were assured, utterly pure) water generated by the fuel cell, or OSCAR
as he is now called. We have yet to name the electrolyzer.
Safety, a top priority, affects every aspect of our design process. Safety Officer Chris Locovare
formulated an overall Life Safety Plan and Emergency Action Plan. Architects and interior
designers ensured that GM/BS had all required egress, fire-ratings and fire-retardant finishes. Greg
Sachs is working with several companies to confirm alarm system protocols including the power
system shut down and purge ventilation. However our most pressing concern at this time is the
proper siting and design of the hydrogen storage area. Without regulatory approval of our design
we cannot finish the project on time.
While construction Manager Jerry Stramowski needs to locate and plan for this area "yesterday"
(!), David Schieren and Greg Sachs struggle with the intricacies of National Fire Protection
Agency's Code 55 (which addresses gaseous hydrogen storage), to find the safest and most
functional solution for hydrogen storage that is within our 800 square foot footprint. Working
closely with Mike Catalano, Green Machine Team Leader, they are in active communication with
Long Island's Nassau County Fire Department, the Fire Marshall's office in Washington D. C. and a
private company that specializes in hydrogen siting, Hydrogen Safety LLC.
At the same time, lead by Heather Korb, architects and interior designers know they must stay
several steps ahead of the engineers. Under the supervision of Jerry Stramowski, all members of
the team, including faculty, administration, family and volunteers work on weekends to complete
the house envelope. A brief summary of our construction progress follows.
Our pre-cut, pre-engineered Agriboard panels arrived April 18th.
On April 19th we began to transform Green Machine, our shipping container to prepare it for
insulation. Lead by Jerry Stramowski and Mike Catalano the container was pre-wired and
plumbed. Installers flew from California to spray-on, soy-based (you could eat it!) insulation on
April 26th.
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On May 14th students lead by Jerry Stramowski and Bill Brady started construction of Blue Space
with the Agriboard panels. With help from contractors, especially Long Island based Ted Selmer of
Commercial Construction Technologies, Inc., the Agriboard enclosing envelope (with the
exception of some windows) was completed on June 19th.
Our 54, 200-watt photovoltaic panels, a special contribution by Sanyo Solar Corporation arrived
June 10th . These are the most efficient single crystalline photovoltaics available. Students took an
online PV system design and installation course and participated in intensive seminar training to
prepare for installation by mid August. On August 1st we received a letter of support and official
UL listing for the panels from Sanyo International.
On June 11th , the day Mike Wassmer visited us, we received our two required P.E. stamps for
structural stability (one for Green Machine, one for Blue Space) and FedExed them to NREL for
National Parks Commission approval.
With the house under construction and the fuel cell/electrolyzer commissioning, communication,
documentation and outreach have accelerated. Shana Lerner and Lawrence Yu have taken the
lead in documentation and creative transformation of communicative media to enhance our
public relations. Ten of thirty donated Symbol PDT units, which allow our house to “talk” arrived in
early February. The challenge is to program these units to deliver essential information about
Green Machine/Blue Space to its inhabitants. Student interviews with local TV Channels 12 and 55
have generated excitement in the region. Our new website will launch September 1st.
Faculty and students from NYIT’s School of Culinary Arts who will design and cook competition
meals joined us and submitted menus for team anticipatory delectation. We are looking forward
to sampling these meals at our sponsor luncheon on September 15th. Plants for the Green
Machine roof garden are growing in an organic herb garden tended by students in Culinary Arts
with frequent visits from Heather Korb and her family.
Design adjustments:
The actual construction of Green Machine/ Blue Space has caused us to adjust our design as we
reconcile our ideals with the limitations of the competition. Green Machine/Blue Space was
conceived as a year round dwelling in the northeastern United States. Great care was taken to
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select biodegradable materials, incorporate natural sources of food and water, and design a
non-polluting energy production system that used no fossil fuels.
These design decisions have resulted in trade offs that we are addressing during these last months.
The difficulties of transporting the house have affected design decisions. Efforts to use thermal
mass to balance energy loads during colder seasons have been put on hold. Effective thermal
mass would simply be too heavy and unwieldy to transport. Moreover, it is unlikely to be used
within the timeframe of the competition. An evacuated tube system of hot water generation will
supply hot water for the competition but will not be used to provide underfloor heating as
previously planned. The sand and concrete floor planned for Blue Space will be installed later,
when the house is permanently located on Long Island.
Our unique power system necessitated a thoughtful approach to design aesthetics. Solar energy
storage via a hydrogen fuel cell system is nominally less efficient than a battery based system. This
means that our photovoltaic array must be significantly larger in order to supply comparable
energy during short periods of time, such as the one week duration of the competition.
Consequently, our footprint is very close to the maximum 800 square feet. Because of this
limitation, we have reluctantly reduced the size of our precious garden atop Green Machine so
as to accommodate the flora and fauna of mechanical systems.
Experiencing the built space caused us to change the design. When the exterior envelope of
Blue Space was complete everyone was impressed with the magnificence of its volume.
However we realized we had to shorten the loft space to retain this spatial impressiveness.
Finally, product innovation has encouraged a noticeable shift in aesthetics with regard to finishes.
Following concepts advanced by McDonough and Braungarti, “green” may not always mean
“natural” and, indeed, accepts the intervention of technology if energy is conserved. Architects
and interior designers have discovered a multitude of new “green”, recycled products that use
technological advances to transform discarded materials into seamless construction elements.
Recycled telephone books are reconstituted as sleek countertops. Recycled resins encapsulate
grasses and flowers and are suitable for doors, floors or even stair treads. Ground wheat or
compressed wheat straw become homogenous, machined building materials.
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Schedule for the final weeks:
Week of August 8th: Final documentation submission to NREL.
Need approval of hydrogen storage room from WDCFD stat!
August 13
Standing seam metal roof completed.
August 18-24
Uni-rac system arrives, photovoltaics installed, hydrogen storage room completed
August 24-Sept 1
Fuel cell, electrolyzer, hydrogen tanks brought from laboratory and installed on site
September 1
System integration begins with diagnostics, testing. New website launched.
As we make progress on the mechanical systems, finishing the house must stay one step ahead of
installation of mechanical, electrical and HVAC systems. Construction Manager Jerry Stramowski
leads in urging all to limit changes and stick to the schedule. Transportation and full competition
logistics loom as our next challenge.
NYIT Faculty Advisors, Fall 2005:
Dr. Robert Amundsen, Director, Graduate Program in Energy Management
Dr. Paul Koch, Professor, Engineering and Technology
Paul Lipsky, Professor, Arts, Sciences and Communications
Michele Bertomen, Professor, Architecture and Design, Co-Director NYIT Solar Decathlon 2005
Thomas Rochon, Professor, Architecture and Design
Martha Siegel, Professor, Architecture and Design, Chair, Interior Design, Co-Director NYIT Solar Decathlon 2005
Robert Allen, Professor, Architecture and Design, Interior Design
Bruce Spivak, Professor, Education and Professional Services, Culinary Arts
United States Merchant Marine Academy Faculty Advisors, Fall 2005:
Gregory Sachs, Project Manager USMMA Alternative Power Program
Captain Douglas Brown, Director, USMMA Alternative Power Program
NYIT Administration:
Pam Bottge, Director of Development
Mary Quinn, Director, Communications and Marketing
June Bukovinsky, Administrative Assistant
i McDonough, William, Braungart, Michael Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make things Northpoint Press, 2002
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