kcoleman@usc.edu
Graduate Research Scholar Program
University of Southern California School of Architecture

student:
faculty:
contact:

Tomas A. Salgado, MBS
G. G. Schierle
schierle@usc.edu
  RESEARCH summary 
title:
 USC Solar Decathlon: Structural Design & Analysis
  The USC Solar Decathlon is a collaborative student design project for a zero-fossil-energy house. The house will be first built in Los Angeles and then transported cross-country to our nation's capital to participate in a nationwide competition.

The design of the structure needs to satisfy two major factors. The first is to allow the building to stand up to the various forces (such as seismic and wind) on two very different locations. The second is to make sure that the weight of the building will not make cross-country transport difficult. Skillful structural design is what allows us to accomplish those two goals. This is accomplished by using a combination of hand calculation and computer analysis on Multiframe 4D simulation software, while getting to learn the applicable building codes.

web resources:

http://www.usc.edu/dept/architecture/sd/index.html
 
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