Exceeding the U.S. Department of Energy Challege Home Competition: The Next
Generation (of Designers, Engineers and Builders) Speaks – Montage Builders –
Northern Forest
Michelle Tinner, Andrew Kenneally, David Wallace, Gamika Korale, Jacek Bartczak, Jeff Chen, Krystall
Tyrrell, Michelle Walczyk, Peter Lacongo, Deirdre Hamlett, Sarnai Davaadagva, Zhauzhou Meng, Talia
Horner, and Brent Crump
ABSTRACTY
This presentation offers an overview of how Montage Builders – Northern Forest, a team comprised of
Onondaga Community College, SUNY ESF, and Syracuse University students, meet and exceed the US
DOE Home Challenge Design Student Competition objectives. Please join us to learn more about the
challenges this integrated project team faced in designing an affordable and efficient single family house
for families in the city of Syracuse and the real-world solutions they used to overcome them. See our final
design, a model of what the next generation of builders, designers as well as future homeowners consider
to be a green, healthy, and sustainable home.
With comprehensive financial analysis and focused research in visitability, universal design, resilience,
passive and active solar, durability, aesthetics, indoor air quality, storm water management, and space
conditioning, our design demonstrates a holistic approach to stainability, which has the ability to empower
families, strengthen Syracuse's neighborhoods, bolster the local economy, as well as restore our
environment. Our team, which includes faculty, community, and professional advisors who are experts in
their respective fields, is a diverse multi-cultural and multi-generational aggregation of perspectives and
experiences and the key for the success of this DOE Student Challenge. Participants of this session will
be introduced to the dynamic governing technique and decision matrix approach used by our group to
make this winning collaboration possible.
BIOGRAPHY
Montage Builders – Northern Forest is an integrative project team, comprised of college students from
SUNY ESF, Onondaga Community College, and Syracuse University, participating in the 2014 US DOE
Challenge Home Student Design Competition.
We design and build regionally appropriate and truly sustainable homes for our community though holistic
thinking and collaboration. By reaching beyond energy savings and creating equity for homeowners we
aim to enhance the world, our neighborhoods, as well as the financial and physical well being of
communities, families, and individuals.