Organization’s Social Mission

Mission

Build Up! empowers and equips students to pursue sustainable innovations that improve people’s lives, drive the economy and contribute to students’ education. Through collaborative efforts with peers, academics, and professionals, students develop professionally and earn scholarship money.

Vision

To change the lives of students, preparing them to lead the world through teamwork and sustainable innovation.

Green Initiatives

About Build Up!

Build Up! is an organization whose purpose is to provide students with hands-on opportunities to develop sustainable innovation and earn scholarship money.

Build Up! houses are designed by students and built by established and emerging world-class architects to build houses around the world. The houses will be available to rent for the general public, and proceeds are used to provide student scholarships. SEE “ABOUT BUILD UP! BUILDING A BRIGHTER MICHIGAN COMPETITION” BELOW FOR INFORMATION ABOUT PARTICIPATING (REGISTRATION DUE: 12/31/2009)

The inspiration for Build Up! came from a desire for students to get hands on experience in sustainable design, from shrinking scholarship opportunities for students, and from the goal to enable people to experience what it is like to live, eat and sleep in a space designed by sustainable architectural practice.

Build Up! will open its first house on Mackinac Island, Michigan for rentals in the spring of 2011.

Students who participate in Build Up! projects are typically undergraduates who come from a wide range of academic disciplines, including majors within business, engineering, liberal arts and sciences, architecture and urban planning, and more. We are dedicated to the development of our members as teammates, educators, and leaders, and to the education of our community on the potential of sustainable design.

Purpose

Build Up! brings attention to complex challenges we face around sustainability. Working together offers powerful solutions—building more efficiently and creating a brighter future.

1.  To educate the student participants about the benefits of sustainable innovation, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies. As the next generation of engineers, architects, builders, and communicators, participants will be able to use this knowledge in their studies and their future careers.
2. To raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency, and how sustainable design can reduce energy usage.
3. To foster collaboration among students from different academic disciplines—including engineering and architecture students, who rarely work together until they enter the workplace.
4. To promote an integrated or “whole building design” approach to new construction. This approach differs from the traditional design/build process because the design team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy, and reduce environmental impact.
5. To demonstrate to the public the potential of Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, as they consume. Even though the home might be connected to a utility grid, it has net zero energy consumption from the utility provider.

About Build Up! Building a Brighter Michigan Competition

The Build Up! Building a Brighter Michigan competition invites Michigan college and university students to compete to design the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient net zero house. The design is meant to display the powerful combination of energy efficiency and the best in home design. Build Up! is a not for profit organization that facilitates the competition and sale of the house to raise money for a scholarship trust fund.

Dates of the 2009 competition are:

• Nov. 1, 2009 – Competition launched
• Dec. 31, 2009 – Team registration due
• Feb. 7, 2010 – Halfway progress report due
• March 7, 2010 – Full design submission due
• March 26, 2010 – Winner announced
• September 2010 – Groundbreaking

Raffle tickets for weeklong vacations at the completed home will be available for sale starting January 1, 2010. Tickets will be available to purchase online or from design teams.