Home Is Where His Art Is

G. Z. "Charlie" Brown thinks big. For him, home improvement isn't about installing new miniblinds, but about building high-quality, low-cost, and energy-efficient housing for millions of Americans. As head of the UO architecture department and a member of the Center for Housing Innovation, Brown is keenly aware of America's pressing need for affordable housing--and he's doing something about it.
"My aim is to change how houses are built--to make them cost less and perform better," Brown says. "Most changes in this area are incremental, not fast enough to keep up with the growing need--especially in the area of low-income housing. What we need is a revolution in thinking about how houses are made."
Software may be at the heart of the revolution.
Brown is director of a research group of twenty-five students and faculty members called the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory. This beehive of activity has developed two software programs that provide architects with an array of powerful new tools.

Energy Scheming relates a building's proposed form to its energy use, allowing users to gauge the effect of major design changes--say, a bigger window here, more insulation there--on a building's long-term energy costs. Sketch in the changes and Energy Scheming quickly calculates an energy-use profile. The program's Expert System, a kind of electronic consultant, offers advice about how to improve the building further.

Softdesk Energy is an add-on program for the widely used AutoCAD/Auto-Architect software from Autodesk. Softdesk Energy automatically interprets CAD drawing in a manner useful for making choices among various specifications to optimize energy efficiency.

"Energy Scheming helps with larger design questions; Softdesk is a tool for fine-tuning," Brown explains. "The energy savings they create can be quite significant, especially when you consider that the savings are enjoyed year after year."

Blueprint for Success

More than 150,000 Oregon families are in need of decent affordable housing, but state officials say many of them won't find it because entry-level housing isn't a priority for home builders in the 1990s. Brown and his team of researchers have designed a response to this "housing gap" with an affordable, energy-efficient house called Cascadia.
Cascadia is a 1,040-square-foot, three-bedroom house that's more affordable and uses 20 percent less energy than other houses of comparable size. Cascadia uses stressed skin insulating core (SSIC) panels for its exterior walls and roof. The SSIC panels (a rigid foam core sandwiched between two exterior "skins," usually made of oriented-strand board) are "very sturdy and provide great insulation," Brown says. "They represent an important new alternative building material."
His group is donating detailed development documents for Cascadia to builders who target entry-level home buyers. In addition, they are providing free consultation to help start specific projects.

The Next Generation

Students who study and work with Brown get an education unlike any other, from helping develop cutting-edge software to pounding nails on demonstration projects.
"By the time these students move on to their careers," Brown says, "they have experience with the most advanced thinking and the most advanced software in this rapidly developing area of architecture."
As his students move into the work force, Brown hopes to see them make major contributions to the quality of life for thousands of Oregonians.
"Housing is an important strand in the social fabric," he states, "and when housing is improved, society benefits."

Back to INQUIRY, Spring 1997