Two Eugene-area television stations broadcast stories recently about the first house built by UO and LCC students in an unusual partnership with two Lane County agencies. The students, in an architecture studio called OregonBILDS, are wrapping up construction on the three-bedroom, two-bath home that will be sold to a local family. The home, which will be on the Lane County Homebuilders Association Tour of Homes in July, is the culmination of a year’s worth of work by students working with NEDCO (Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation) and the Housing and Community Services Agency of Lane County (HACSA) to design and build a house focused on affordability and sustainability. It is expected to sell for approximately $175,000; profits from the sale will return to OregonBILDS to help fund eight more houses by students. The students—from the UO Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the LCC Advanced Technology and Carpentry program—teamed with local venders and contractors to build the house in a partnership unique in the Western United States. Both KMTR and KEZI aired features on the house.

Above: Associate Professor Rob Thallon (center with camera phone) along with local media photograph EWEB energy management specialist Eli Volem as he conducts a blower-door test to assess the energy efficiency of the  nearly completed OregonBILDS house. The building came in at 3.6, beating the Energy Star rating of 4.0.