Help UB's GRoW home get to California

UB is one of only 15 teams in the international competition – to be held October 8-18 in Irvine, California - which aims to educate the public about energy-saving residential designs. The name GRoW, an acronym for “Garden, Relax or Work,” is a nod to the many uses for the home, which embraces both the urban gardening culture of Buffalo and its four-season climate.

A multidisciplinary team of students and faculty have joined forces to design and build the GRoW home, under the supervision of Martha Bohm, assistant professor of architecture and lead faculty advisor of the project. Students at every academic level, from freshmen to PhD, are involved in this collaborative process.

The scope is huge. The house, once built and rigorously tested to measure the energy it uses and produces, will be deconstructed and transported to Orange County Great Park in Irvine. There, it will be evaluated in 10 contests, ranging from architecture and engineering to home appliance performance.

Following the competition, the GRoW home is expected to return to Buffalo and become an energy education center for the community.

So far, more than 300 individuals and over 55 organizations have made gifts to the project. Materials, services and cash have been donated from corporate partners, and the U.S. Department of Energy supplied seed funding. But, more funds are now needed to help transport the house to California and back to Buffalo.

GRoW team students are gaining hands-on experience in construction, design and interdisciplinary teamwork, all skills that will help them succeed in future careers.

Visit http://grow.buffalo.edu/ to learn more.