After traveling nearly 600 miles to Washington, D.C., UK’s S•KY BLUE solar house is now sitting on the National Mall.
Faculty, staff, and students from the Colleges of Engineering (along with the College of Agriculture and the College of Design) are putting the finishing touches on the house in preparation for its grand opening on Thursday, Oct. 8. OxBlue Inc. is providing a live, time-lapse view of the construction process.
Don Colliver, Professor of Biosystems and Agriculture Engineering, has been the principal investigator on the project with assistance from a number of engineering faculty and staff. The lead gift of $250,000 was provided by Eon USA, with dozens of other corporations and individuals provided contributions as well. S•KY BLUE will be open to the public Oct. 9-13 and Oct. 15-18 and is located near the corner of 12th Street and Madison Drive, close to the Smithsonian Metro Station.
Once the competition is completed, the house will be transported back to the Kentucky Horse Park, where it will serve as the visitor’s center for the City of Lexington at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Plans are in place for the house eventually to be located on campus where it will continue to serve as a research facility for green living on into the future.