The HIVE Student Dormitory is a net-zero multi-use, multi-family project that applies the highly-efficient environmental management system and the tightly knit social nature of bee hives to a student residence hall. The project is designed for a hypothetical site on Missouri S&T’s campus. The project aims to incentivize on- campus living by providing a high-end, comfortable, green student residence hall for upperclassmen and graduate students. This state- of-the-art facility is designed to act as a center for social activity on campus and intends to serve as a long- term collegiate investment in efficiency, resilience, and sustainability. The range of technologies, bright common spaces, and amenities integrated into the design help the project achieve these goals.
Drawing inspiration from the microsystem of bee hives, the project features a collection of technologies serving individual purposes to build a large, integrated system that tackles three areas of interest: water, energy, and environment. With a focus on water, the design features greywater and rainwater capture systems and hydroponic green walls. To focus on energy, the design features energy recovery systems and several energy generation and recapture technologies. Focusing on environment, the design makes use of several sustainable and recycled materials as well as human elements like circadian lighting and incorporated greenery to improve both the internal environment of the student residences and the greater external environment.
Engineered Systems
The HIVE Student dorm features integration into the Missouri S&T Campus Geothermal lines to provide a portion of heating and cooling to the building. Solex solar heating and cooling provide another portion. A thermal energy storage system then distributes peak demand, equalizing system loads and reducing max system requirements. An Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) manages moisture, saves energy, and improves occupant comfort.
Photovoltaic cells are placed on the roof, and connected to in-suite batteries, such as the Tesla Power Wall, for storage. Kinetic floor tiles are placed in high foot-traffic areas for additional energy generation. Overall energy loads are reduced with high-efficiency appliances and motion-sensor LED lights, with added circadian lighting patterns for improved occupant psychology.
Rainwater is collected via roof channels and filtered with an Upflow Sludge Blanket Filtration system. Grey water is also collected from washing machines, showers, sinks, and dishwashers, filtered, and used to reduce overall water use from functions like flushing toilets and watering the green walls with an automated drip irrigation system. A heat recapture system also reduces energy loads in the sinks and showers by conserving residual heat for incoming water.
