TriPod: A Plug and Play Housing System
Carnegie Mellon University
TriPod is a prototype house demonstrating the "Plug and Play" concept and is designed to provide an innovative alternative to the currently unimaginative housing industry. The principle of separating served and servant spaces is utilized by creating a mechanical "core" that acts as a motherboard that is able accept multiple "pods" that are living, cooking, and sleeping spaces. This modular design allows homeowners to change their homes by adding or subtracting pods to suit their needs over time.
About the Entrants
Cathy Chung
Cathy Chung was a co-project manager of Carnegie Mellon University's entry for Solar Decathlon 2007, a design-build competition where the student-built houses displayed and competed against 19 other teams on the National Mall in DC for 3 weeks, while the houses were powered solely by the sun. Cathy recently earned her Bachelor of Architecture from CMU and is currently working for Tai + Lee Architects in Pittsburgh, PA.
Brian Kish
Brian Kish was a construction manager for Carnegie Mellon’s University’s Solar Decathlon 2007 team. He graduated with his Bachelor’s of Architecture May of 2008 and will graduate with his Masters in Construction Management in December 2008 from Carnegie Mellon. Brian currently works for IDC Architects in Pittsburgh, PA. In the future, he is looking forward to starting his own design-build architecture firm focused on sustainable and carbon-neutral housing.
Travis Brier
Travis Brier was a member of Carnegie Mellon University's Solar Decathlon team as an electrical engineer and a computer programmer. After graduating from CMU with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering in December of 2007, he joined the workforce of Cisco Systems as a Network Management Technology Specialist. In the future, Travis hopes to get into projects along the lines of Smart Grid or to join the automobile industry and its quest to build zero-emission vehicles.