URBANbuild is a design-build program offered to Architecture students at Tulane University that addresses prototypical housing in a Post-Katrina New Orleans. A team of students designs and constructs a single-family home over a school year. Sustainability, efficiency, and affordability are all parameters throughout the design process. Urbanbuild4 achieved LEED Silver Certification.
Among my responsibilities was designing, fabricating, and installing the exterior panel and guardrail systems. I welded the panel frames from light-gauge steel and embedded them with polycarbonate panels. Polycarbonate is a lightweight, impact-resistant material that readily allows light passage. Each panel is operable, and residents may move the panels to protect the home from debris during a storm. The guardrail system provides constant privacy from passing vehicles along the street fronts.
