Abstract

The ‘Three Houses’ designs are for a site adjacent to ‘The Gill House’. The project is live and has been submitted for planning permission with the decision pending. The project was conceived as a vehicle to explore sustainable house design and the use of modular timber framed prefabricated construction techniques. It was also used as a further opportunity, following the ‘Gill House’ to explore the knowledge transfer relationship of research practice and teaching. The house designs are based around the use of a composite frame (steel and timber) construction. Steel elements are incorporated to allow the inclusion of shading devices and the timber frame components, which constitute pre-formed timber panels, form the rest of the structure. Each house design is different, but based on the same set of timber module dimensions. The aim is to build three houses with a zero-carbon footprint from sustainable materials.The project was accompanied by a series of student projects, which explored different aspects of the location and site, each written specifically to take advantage of any possible knowledge transfer from innovative practice to teaching and teaching to practice. The resultant house designs and student work were the subject of an invited exhibition at the Waterloo School of Architecture Public Gallery Canada. The invitation was extended after members of the Exhibition Committee within the School saw the exhibition held at the David Azrelli Gallery Ottawa. The exhibition entitled ‘Synthesis – Three Houses’ was held (?2007tbc) and had an accompanying catalogue (ISBN ???tbc) including a forward by gallery curator John McMin. Following this exhibition the authors have been invited to contribute to the forthcoming Architectural Design issue on Interior Atmospheres due for publication in 2008.