Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

There was a great turnout for the ribbon cutting ceremony and open house tours. The ceremony celebrated the last 2.5 years of hard work by students and faculty as well as the wonderful support from the local Norris community and other project contributors.


Opening remarks were made by Scott Poole, the new Dean of the College of Architecture & Design at UT Knoxville. The other speakers included:

Jimmy G. Cheek, Chancellor, UT Knoxville
Samuel Mortimer, Bachelor of Architecture '10
Loy Johnson, Council Member, City of Norris
Kevin Clayton, CEO, Clayton Homes


The distinguished speakers were joined by other project supporters for the formal ribbon cutting.


Although this event was a well deserved "job well done" for everyone involved, it also marks the beginning of the year-long residency, demonstration, and extensive energy monitoring program. As a Master of Architecture student at UT and one of the Graduate Research Assistants this year, I will be helping to monitor and interpret the collected data to see how well the home's systems are functioning. I am excited to be part of this phase of the process and I am looking forward to sharing what we learn with you. Keep checking in for weekly updates on the New Norris House.

Ribbon Cutting and Open House

I am pleased to announce the formal ribbon cutting for the New Norris House project will be next week, the afternoon of Thursday the 25th. If anyone is in the area, please mark your calenders! This event is the culmination of 2.5 years of work, and will kick off the year long live-in evaluation period.

There will be a formal opening, a few words by university administration and project partners, and of course tours of the home. In addition, a few historical Norris homes will be opening for viewing/comparison, as well as a small exhibit in the city museum.

Hope to see you all there! If you live in Norris, then we want to see you there for sure!

Open House: May 2011

This weekend our team hosted a "soft opening" of the New Norris House to celebrate the completion of major construction. There is lots more to do and details to resolve, but this event was a welcomed termination of two semesters of work by design|build studio/seminar participants.

Many parents, supporters, and community members were in attendance for this event and we look forward to hosting many more in the future.

Putting the "New" in New Norris House

I should begin by saying that I am one of the new additions to the New Norris House team. With only a handful of on-site experiences under my (shiny new tool) belt, these first few weeks have mostly involved familiarizing myself with the project and learning the processes through which business is conducted. However, once the initial excitement, and at times confusion, of this new endeavor wore off, the broader implications of the project were brought to light. I was beginning to see the New Norris House as a great opportunity whose benefits stretch far beyond the academic.

What immediately impacted me was the number of hands coming together for this common purpose. Not only have students assembled from various architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design studios; but graduate students, faculty, contractors and subcontractors, and a number of people from the Norris community have all contributed to the cause. While interdisciplinary collaboration is imperative to the execution of this design, it also creates a few complications in terms of scheduling and project management. Each individual must do his part for the whole operation to run smoothly.

The focus of my efforts have centered on the greywater system. As rainwater hits the roof and falls into the Galvalume gutters, it runs along a very "custom" path that penetrates the building envelope and feeds into the cistern [pictured below] for filtration and storage. The main issues with detailing this indoor downspout involved keeping a continuous, water-tight seal at the point of penetration and along the length of the channel. With so many measures taken to keep a tight building envelope, the smallest break could negate our entire effort. Therefore, every opening we make must be carefully enclosed to ensure optimum comfort and energy efficiency.

Save the Earth

This evening I attended the City Council Meeting in Norris with a couple of my fellow team members. They were kind enough to let us give a presentation updating them on all of our continuing progress as their newest neighbors. It’s wonderful to have the communities support and interest in all of our endeavors.

At this meeting I presented a synopsis of our endeavors in achieving LEED certification. This is an important system because it consolidates all our environmentally conscious efforts to be measured against pre-established standards. Right now, we are anticipated to obtain 97 points under the LEED for Homes rating system which will give us a LEED Platinum rating, which is the highest level available (go us!). To help us achieve our goal, we are attempting to obtain close to the highest number of points possible in several categories including Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, and Energy and Atmosphere. The majority of these points come from our pre-established design goals including limited material waste, re-use of rainwater, and efficient landscaping. Building in the Norris community also helps us attain points for the Locations and Linkages portion of the system. We get credit for building on a previously developed lot, having easy access to already established community resources, as well as for being half a mile from a publicly accessible park. While the LEED system itself is a great way to suggest goals for those looking into environmentally friendly building, it is important to concentrate on the ideals that underlie the system rather than getting bogged down with the paperwork and requirements associated with it.

Ready.. Set..

Today was the last day of preparation before THE BIG DAY OF HOUSE DELIVERY (Clayton will be delivering the house on Thursday).

The dormer team has done it! After a lot of hard work and endurance through some small glitches in the system, the dormer is complete and ready for transplantation. Tomorrow evening, this group of fine craftsmen/women will deliver their masterpiece to its new resting place in Norris.

The masonry team has also arrived at its goal. 2 1/2 walls have been laid, and today the bond beam was reinforced and poured. Highlight of our day: because of our efficiency, we had some time before the concrete truck arrived, so we took the opportunity to visit the nearby Norris Dam. The weather was great, and the dam and its natural surroundings are incredibly beautiful! Everyone should go see it! In the visitors center, Andy Pittman and I had the opportunity to talk with a very nice lady that worked there. Turns out, she and her husband live in the Town of Norris, and he served as Mayor for several years. It was clear that they really love the way of life there when she told us that "Norris really is the best kept secret in all America!" We were also happy to hear that she and her husband are looking forward to coming to see the house.

Once the house is delivered to the site, our work continues. Next steps: the other two foundation walls will be laid, and the dormer will be placed onto the roof. I think we're all really looking forward to see all of this coming together.