Taubman Museum of Art--New Exhibit Eclipsis/LumenHaus - Through Aug. 17

The museum’s MediaLab will showcase Virginia Tech’s Solar Decathlon Team’s prototype wall system for the team’s entry in the premiere showcase for solar powered home technology. As a Solar Decathlon competitor for the third time since 2002, the team, which consists of forty faculty and students from Virginia Tech’s Department of Architecture and Design, has created LumenHaus, which features computer controlled systems that use an iPhone as the interface. The team will showcase their unique louvering system Eclipsis, designed to react to nuances of the changing light, making the house more responsive to the environment and the individual.

The exhibition also will include a video on the unique aspects of LumenHaus. For three weeks in October of 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy will host the Solar Decathlon, an international biennial competition on the mall in Washington, D.C. in which twenty teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon also provides the opportunity for the public to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design. The 2009 Solar Decathlon is the fourth competition since 2002. During each of the past Solar Decathlons, more than 100,000 visitors flocked to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to visit the “solar village.” Through the exhibition, the Virginia Tech Solar Decathlon Team will further its mission to inform and educate the public about issues of energy (particularly solar) while enhancing student education through a design-build process of innovative research and testing through application.

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=31559