Team Members:
Israel Bryant – Undergraduate in Architectural Engineering
Maddax Frye – Undergraduate in Architectural Engineering
Sophie Kudron – Undergraduate in Architectural Engineering
Ema Horner – Undergraduate in Architectural Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Moe Alahmad
School: University of Nebraska Lincoln
Challenge: That’s a Wrap!
Problem Definition: The objective of this challenge is to improve the building envelope performance of new or existing residential buildings by reducing energy consumption in a cost-effective and accessible way.
Project Title: Detecting, Contracting, Sealing (DCS) – The Community Envelope
Solution: Low-income housing is an important aspect of any society as it supports the growth of citizens who do not have large incomes. It serves people of all age brackets, races, religions, places of origin, gender, sexuality, and everything in between. Individuals in low-income housing disproportionately find themselves in buildings that may have extensive air leakages and are unprotected from the elements. As of today, there are few organizations that work to protect the building envelope, and there are none that do it the way we propose.
We propose the creation of a non-profit, called “Detecting, Contracting, and Sealing,” which will take a two-part approach to solving these problems. The first part includes physical inspection and restoration, where we will utilize industry volunteers who will enter homes to check for problems within the building envelope. The second part includes utilizing government agency funding and accounting for stakeholder needs. Using existing resources like reaching out to colleges, trade schools, industry companies, and government assistance, we plan to establish a beneficial non-profit for the community without taking away resources from them.