Beyond just design, we seek an active role in building our project because innovative construction methods and materials are crucial in realizing the larger goal of our work: to demonstrate better, more sustainable housing.
The Net Positive Studio began in the fall semester of 2018 under the direction of Associate Professor Michael Gibson. Since then, the studio has progressed with the mission to research, develop, and demonstrate housing models that can support households and communities through design and a rigorous and sensible approach to sustainability. We strive to create a safe, high-quality, environmentally sensitive, and functional home while demonstrating broad tenants of sustainability. These include:
- energy
- environmental conservation
- economic tenability,
- positive social and community impact
In advancing a dialogue and solutions for affordable housing in the 21st century, the studio intends to engage multiple dimensions of our region’s (and society’s) growing housing crisis. Our approach to solving the crisis includes four stages:
Neighborhood Analysis
Schematic Design
Design Development
Construction
Our student teams spend a year researching a problem, collecting insight from professionals, developing and testing possible solutions, developing a project proposal, and executing our scope of work in the form of prefabricated building components. We utilize advanced technologies to optimize, plan, and manage the parts we will make, and use the shops at APDesign to prefabricate and build our designs. In our studio, the student teams create detailed construction drawings that are then used by a general contractor to complete construction.
The Net Positive Studio 