Project Row Houses

It has been a constant goal of Rice Solar Decathlon to bring an end to the site-less and client-less designs of many previous Solar Decathlon houses. Our team worked hard to design a house that will be uniquely suited to withstand the rigors of Houston's Gulf Coast climate - where the house will spend most of its operational
life - and will meet the needs of the client, Row House Community Development Corporation.

Row House CDC

Row House Community Development Corporation was formed in August 2003, to respond to the encroaching gentrification of Houston's Third Ward. The Third Ward is one on the oldest neighborhoods in Houston, characterized by the few remaining blocks of single family bungalows, or row houses. The Row House CDC was founded to protect the historic character of the Third Ward, and to develop housing for low-to-moderate income residents that will restore the liveliness and sense of pride that the neighborhood deserves. Through the Rice Building Workshop, a Rice program with long-standing ties to Row House CDC, Rice Solar Decathlon is designing and constructing the ZEROW HOUSE to serve as the next model for single family housing in the Third Ward.

Rice Building Workshop + Project Row Houses

The ZEROW HOUSE is the latest of Rice University's successful partnerships with Project Row Houses and Row House CDC. Rice Building Workshop students have worked tirelessly to rennovate many original single family bungalows.

Rice students have also designed and constructed new housing on property owned by Row House CDC, including the Six-Square House, duplexes, and a row of nine new duplexes currently under construction.

The direct inspiration for the ZEROW HOUSE, however, was the 500 square-foot XS (Extra Small) House constructed in 2003 at a cost of $25,000.