Lone Light
Housing – Group
Pellston, MI
Graduate – 2nd Semester Studio, Spring 2020
Jaime Lee
The University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) is located in Pellston Michigan on land that was acquired from logging companies after it had been deforested. It’s 10,000 acres of forests have since grown back but research continues on the lasting impacts of this human action.
The Lone Light Studio was tasked with creating a building for research and living for the scientists, while paying attention to lighting (sun, moon, artificial) and the impact of the building on the landscape. Design studio individuals partnered with a student from the Digital and Materials Technologies (DMT) degree at the school to exchange ideas and potentially work together.
The project looked at all options of lighting before resorting to artificial electric light. Sunlight would be the most common, but moonlight and campfires/wood stoves add a pleasant change that still can illuminate the space. Red light would still be artificial, but it would be less straining to the residents’ eyes.
The light studies above helped informed the final design of a large main window behind which many of the day activities could be completed. It provides daylight to the kitchen, living room and lab. The bedroom only receives some of the light from the slot window in the early morning light, helping to keep it dark and offer a chance to fall back into our original day-night routines away from artificial light.
Like most projects in remote locations, the research residence would need to be located off grid. In the same spirit, it tries to minimize its overall environmental impact. Water needs are fulfilled through rainwater catchment and storage on the roof. The roof is sloped inward to bring water into a tank located just above the bedroom, it also functions as a significant thermal mass. The tank is made like a wooden water tower and swells when full to prevent leaks. The water is UV treated for potable water but non-potable is used when it can be. Rather than using a composting toilet a conventional septic system is installed to handle all wastewater and recharge the aquifer. Electrical needs are fulfilled with a small solar system on the oriented and sloped roof with a battery under the ground floor. HVAC is accomplished with a wood stove in the living room and a cool tower in the bedroom, and exceptional insulation.
Rammed earth exterior walls were chosen in partnership with DMT student Jaime Lee. Aside from how beautiful they are, the chosen site and the rest of the biological station actually has sandy soil that is a good composition for a rammed earth wall. Jaime created some test samples but COVID hit and the semester ended before it could be investigated further.
The majority of the building is either composed of site sourced rammed earth or lumber from the trees cut to place the building. While rammed earth is more typically used in southwest climates, it functions well in colder climates when insulation is sandwiched in between layers. The Therm model below shows the temperature curves for the wall on a cold winter day.
