Student experience
TeamMTL is an inter-institutional and interdisciplinary group made up of faculty members and students from Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science and the John Molson School of Business (JMSB), as well as McGill’s Faculty of Engineering and Desautels Faculty of Management.
The team’s Deep Performance Dwelling (DPD) is net-zero energy capable and low or zero carbon system-built. It uses 80 per cent less electricity than conventional homes.
Michael Montanaro, co-director of the Topological Media Lab and professor in Concordia’s Department of Contemporary Dance, was in China for the competition. Working with his students, he installed ambient, responsive data-visualization technology that tracks resource consumption in the DPD — the only house in the competition to do so.
“For me, it has been less about the prizes and more about the personal pride of rising to the occasion and meeting the challenges as defined by our team’s vision,” he says.
“I don’t think that I can remember a project or an event in my life that serves as a better example of what can be achieved with blood, sweat and tears. A fantastic experience with a group of tremendously talented people,” says Montanaro.
Claire Kapusta, a building engineering undergraduate student at Concordia, also says working on the home was profoundly rewarding.
“I have really proven to myself that any task, no matter how daunting, can be accomplished by breaking it down into smaller chunks. After completing this project, I feel like anything is possible!”