BSU Solar Decathlon Design & Build Challenges

Tag: Ball State Alley House

  • “Topping Out” Celebration of the Alley House
    December 19, 2022 by

    The framing of the Alley House is completed! A “Topping Out” celebration was held on Monday, December 19th. Originally a Scandinavian tradition, the practice of “topping out” a new building can be traced to the ancient rite of placing a tree atop a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. An […]

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  • Quartz Countertop Selection 
    November 30, 2022 by

    The Alley House Team has been working with Olympia Stone out of Zionsville, IN, to make final selections for the house’s quartz countertop. Quartz was selected for the unit’s countertops because of its sustainable qualities and ability to have unique colors and textures. Quartz is durable, easy to clean, manufactured with recycled content, and is […]

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  • Framing Begins on the Alley House
    November 30, 2022 by

    The Alley House uses a system of framing known as advance framing. This is a building technique used to optimize material usage by using 2×6 at 24” on center, compared to traditional framing of 2x4s at 16” on center. This makes better use of typical sheathing sizes resulting in less waste and labor. This larger […]

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  • Pouring the Shallow Frost Protected Slab Foundation 
    November 14, 2022 by

    The Alley House uses an innovative slab manufactured by Legalett, known as a shallow frost, protected slab. The typical home slab in Indianapolis and areas with similar climates consists of concrete footers, and concrete foundation walls that must be buried up to two feet below the frost line, followed by a concrete slab. The foundation […]

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  • Alley House Ground Breaking July 13, 2022
    July 7, 2022 by

    The Solar Decathlon Team from Ball State University’s R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning invites you to the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Alley House, a small-footprint, net-zero, sustainable two-family home on an infill lot in Indianapolis’ Near Eastside. Englewood Community Development Corporation (ECDC) and Gratus Development collaborated on the Alley House, an interdisciplinary […]

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  • Another team win for the Alley House!
    June 8, 2022 by

    Congratulations to the CAP faculty, staff, and students and partner Englewood CDC of Indianapolis! The Alley House project was awarded $25,000 in State Farm’s Neighborhood Assist program following two rounds of competition.  In Round One, the Solar Decathlon team’s narrative proposal and budget was selected to advance, then in Round Two several days of public […]

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  • The Solar Decathlon Experience!
    June 2, 2022 by

    Check it out!   Today we received a letter form the Solar Decathlon Director, Holly Carr, congratulating us on becoming a finalist in the 2023 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon! The team is one of 21 finalist that were awarded $50,000 in funding. Please take time to read our letter to learn more! Ball […]

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