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Engineering DesignInspired bynatureStudents travel toFrank Lloyd Wright sitesPhotos: Benjamin FehlSketch: Ji Won ParkEach semester, students in EDSGN 130 ArchitectureGraphics and CAD taught by Engineering Design InstructorBenjamin Fehl, visit two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s famousarchitectural sites, both of which are located only a few hoursfrom Penn State.Wright, who is recognized by the American Institute ofArchitects as the greatest American architect of all time, isfamous for his innovative design concepts and his leadershipin architectural movements.The first Wright building the students visit is Fallingwater,which was built in Bear Run, PA, in 1937. It is famousfor its organic architecture, incorporating a waterfall in itsdesign. It was built for the Kaufmann family, who owned theKaufmann's department store chain. In 1963, the propertywas donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and,since then, has attracted nearly six million visitors.Just a few miles from Fallingwater is another one of Wright’sbuildings, Kentuck Knob. Also known as the Hagan House,after the owners for which the house was designed, theresidence was completed in 1956. Kentuck Knob is one ofWright’s “Usonian” homes, characterized by its small, singlestoryappearance and use of native materials. In 1986, LordPeter Palumbo of London, England, bought the propertyand, in 1996, opened the private residence to public tours.The focus of EDSGN 130 is to help students developdrawing and drafting skills and techniques that are requiredfor a successful architectural engineering career. Emphasizingvisual communication, the content of the course is centeredon houses in design and structure.Visiting the Wright buildings provided a perfect opportunityfor students to hand sketch the buildings, capturing thestructural details. By visiting these two architecturallysignificant buildings, students expand their depth ofknowledge of the built world.“Field trips are an immersive educational opportunity,” saidFehl. “This allows students to connect the skills they havedeveloped during the semester with documenting two sitesdesigned by a premier architect.”For more information about EDSGN 130, contact BenjaminFehl at baf120@psu.edu.Sponsor EDSGN 130EDSGN 130 needs sponsorship support to continue taking studentsto the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. Not only does the trip inspireour next generation of architectural engineers, but it also provides apractical exercise and unique learning opportunity at two of America’smost treasured architectural sites. If you would like to help supportthis trip, please contact Sven Bilén at sbilen@psu.edu or 814-863-1526.Solar Decathlon teammakes Natural Fusiona realityNatural fusion is what powers the sun, so it’s fittingthat Penn State’s 2009 Solar Decathlon team—oneof 20 nationwide that competed in October onthe National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the top solarpoweredhouse—would dub its entry Natural Fusion. Butfor the Penn State team, the name was a concept aimedat building an energy-efficient home featuring the holisticintegration of elements across all aspects from design toconstruction.“Natural Fusion was born out of the idea of building anintegrated house and using things that have been used foryears but in a new way,” said Thomas Rauch, team memberand media liaison. “It’s redefining the engineering and thecross-disciplinary educational and design processes.”The idea touched everything the team did. More than 120team members from every academic college at Penn State,including students, staff, and faculty, worked on the project.In fall 2008, nearly 500 first-year students in EDSGN 100contributed their ideas to the design (see pages 20-21). Theproject team worked closely with industry to create the houseand to implement the technologies that made it energyefficientand sustainable.Design began in 2008 when Penn State was accepted to theDepartment of Energy-sponsored competition for the secondtime. (Penn State’s MorningStar took fourth place in 2007.)Then the team worked hard on the competition-maximum,800-square-foot house, installing the photovoltaic solarpanel array and all the other technologies and amenities thatcreated the solar-powered, energy-efficient, and green home.Rauch said the work of the Solar Decathlon team and itsFor the last several years, Pennsylvania has had a state-wideresidential building code that includes construction requirementsintended to reduce energy use in homes. To help Pennsylvaniabuilders comply with the code, the Pennsylvania Housing ResearchCenter (PHRC), housed in the College of Engineering, has worked ondeveloping practical alternatives that are:• Simpler to build and easier to enforce• More rational and flexible• Focused on Pennsylvania in terms of climatic and other conditions• Equivalent to the provisions of the International EnergyConservation Code (IECC)Natural Fusion just prior to leaving for competitionPhoto: Andrew LauLau contributes to Pennsylvania residential energy codecollaboration with industry could very well change how thenation views solar-powered technology.“We had a really great collaboration with industry wheresome of the products we used have never been seen before,”Rauch said, noting that the competition requires all productsused in the houses be commercially available, but does notprohibit new technology from being unveiled for the firsttime. “In a couple of cases, nothing like them had everbeen seen before. Our work with industry was absolutelyinstrumental.”Although Natural Fusion finished in 14th place in 2009, itdid have several residential, commercial, and industrial offersto purchase the Natural Fusion competition house after theSolar Decathlon competition. The team sold the house toBayer Corporation in Pittsburgh, one of the sponsors, tobe installed at their corporate site for use in marketing andongoing research.“Even though the 2009 team did not finish as highly as the2007 team, their design was better in some ways, includingworking closely with a manufactured housing firm to spurcommercialization, and working effectively as a team witheven more disciplines involved,” said Andrew Lau, associateprofessor of engineering design, who was an advisor to boththe 2007 and 2009 teams.For more information on Penn State’s Solar Decathlon team,visit solar.psu.edu. For more on the Solar Decathlon, visitsolardecathlon.org.—Adapted from Geoff Rushton’s article on Penn State LiveAndrew Lau, associate professor of engineering design, has workedwith the PHRC to develop and analyze the proposed alternatives toensure that any options considered result in no more energy usethan allowed by the code. Lau uses his many years of experiencein modeling building energy use, along with the industry-standardcomputer energy simulations, to support this effort. In addition to hismodeling knowledge, Lau served on the code review committee forthe IECC from 1998 to 2000.To download a copy of Pennsylvania’s Alternative Residential EnergyProvisions, visit www.engr.psu.edu/phrc.26 | SEDTAPP NEwS | SPriNg 2010 SPriNg 2010 | SEDTAPP NEwS | 27