Second HBEER Protoype from Houseboat Industry Set in Whitley County
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 14, 2011) − The University of Kentucky College of Design and its partners recently set the second prototype for the Houseboat to Energy Efficient Residences (HBEER) project. The future residence found a new home near Goldbug in Whitley County, Ky. The modular home built by workers from the houseboat industry hopes to welcome its new owners, the Reynolds family, of Corbin, Ky., in February 2012, barring unforeseen setbacks.
As part of UK College of Design's challenge to its faculty and students to work on real world problems to help develop potential solutions, the college's HBEER project was created to help design and build energy efficient, low-income residences.
Partnering with the Center for Applied Energy Research at UK, and sponsored, in part, by the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation and the Kentucky Housing Corporation, UK College of Design initiated the multi-year project HBEER in the fall of 2009. The initiative directly responds to the impact the recent economic downturn has had on the houseboat manufacturing industry in the Commonwealth. More than 50 students and faculty at the college's School of Architecture were responsible for researching and developing the initial models for the homes.
The overall HBEER concept was to design energy efficient, low-income housing units that could be manufactured in the Lake Cumberland area of the state. In partnership with Stardust Cruisers, the designs have now become a reality. The first of 2,000-square-foot modular housing units built by workers from the houseboat industry was placed in the Monticello community of Wayne County in August. The Whitley County home is the second prototype to be set in a Kentucky community. Both prototypes were made possible through a federal grant of $250,000.
The prototype homes feature two bedrooms, one bathroom, laundry, living space and a fully equipped kitchen.
In addition to offering a new low-income home option, HBEER is benefitting Kentucky in other ways by utilizing Kentucky products where possible and giving workers in the state's houseboat industry an opportunity to diversify their skills.
To see an album of photos from the setting of HBEER's first prototype, visit the UK Flickr page at: www.flickr.com/photos/universityofkentucky/sets/72157627508591496/.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716 or whitney.hale@uky.edu
