Pratt Ice Box Challenge
What is the Ice Box Challenge?
The first-ever US collegiate Ice Box Challenge took place at Pratt Institute, demonstrating the advantages of Passive House. Two boxes, one built to local regulations and the other to the international Passive House Standard, were filled with equal amounts of ice and displayed on the Pratt Institute campus in Brooklyn for a week. The remaining ice in each box at the end of the week measured their passive heat-keeping performance.
The Ice Box Challenge makes sustainability tangible and engaging, raising public awareness through a fun, scientific design exercise that makes abstract concepts visible.
The Participants
In spring 2023, the 4th-year architecture students at Pratt Institute explored passive house. Their solution to the Ice Box Challenge both empowered them with knowledge and skills, as well as help them become environmental and social agents of change as they contribute to their local, and greater communities. They learned by actively creating, innovating, and engaging themselves and others to learn through their public exhibition of the Ice Box Challenge.
STEP ONE:
Knowledge Building
Students learn about Passive House through conceptual creative explorations, such as: Body in Motion, Collages, and Spoken Poetry
The Five Principals of Passive House Through Body Movement
STEP TWO:
Design Ice Box Structures
The students then dove into designing the ice box structures in pairs of 2 for public scientific demonstration around the benefits of energy-efficient building structures.
STEP THREE:
Design Synthesis
After the design explorations, the students moved on to the 3rd and final step, developing an entire studio team singular design for full-scale construction.
FINAL STRUCTURE:
What’s in the box?
Both structures were filled with 1144 lbs of ice each, sealed, closed, then opened one week later to measure how well they kept out heat.
Final Weight:
900 pounds for Passive House Ice Box
737 pounds for NYC Energy Code Ice Box
STEP FOUR:
Showing the Work
One week after construction was finished the Pratt Ice Box Challenge held a public exhibit. The event brought together architects, educators and government officials from all over the country and showcased Pratt’s student-designed and built structures.
Through the exhibit both industry leaders and the general public had a tangible demonstration of how implementing Passive House principles can make better buildings and help meet more efficient carbon standards.
See More From Around the World
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Sydney, Australia
Two blocks of ice, two seemingly identical tiny houses standing in the middle of a public thoroughfare.
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Vancouver, Canada
One box was built according to the National Thermal Regulations and the other, according to the Passive House standard.
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Glasgow, Scotland
The display consisted of two small houses, placed side-by-side in Glasgow, Scotland’s city square.
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Santiago, Chile
On the right you can see the remaining ice under the Passive House Standard, and the left under the national standard.
The Ice Box Challlenge in an Education Space
“As educators in the discipline of architecture, ‘how can we empower architecture students to be environmental and social agents of change?”
- In Cho, Co-Founder Passive House for Everyone
Video by Shruti Sridhar
“How can we expand their education to take on climate action while still in school? How can our youth participate actively in building environmental and social resilience?”
200 Plus years of fossil fuel usage to provide energy for buildings is a major component of global GHG emissions, driving climate change.
Passive House Sustainable design conserves energy while improving building performance, function, comfort, and enjoyment, thus is an all around beneficial for climate action.
Community Educational Outreach
We invited NYC students from middle school, high school and even college to learn about the principals of passive house design as represented through the Ice Box Challenge. The Pratt students led the charge, furthering their roles as future leaders and advocates for sustainable development and community-minded projects.
Who was involved?
Pratt Institute provides the creative leaders of tomorrow the knowledge and experience to make a better world. A top-ranked college with opportunities in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Passive House For Everyone! is the Education Arts arm of ChoShields Studio, a Certified Passive House architectural practice that offers extensive architectural and technical expertise with a strong multidisciplinary approach to strengthening communities through designing and building energy-efficient structures.
iPHA is a global network of Passive House stakeholders including architects, planners, scientists, suppliers, manufacturers, policymakers, contractors, property developers and more! iPHA works to promote the Passive House Standard and foster a greater public understanding of highly energy efficient buildings.
Ice Box Challenge Sponsors
