The HyggeHaus (pronounced “hyoo-guh house”) is a UMass collaborative design-build effort between UMass Building & Construction Technology, UMass Architecture, Five College Architectural Studies, & East Branch Studio.

After a full semester of building this house in Chesterfield the time has now come to show it off. As can be seen in the video timelapse below, the house was loaded on a trailer and is en route to Greenfield where it will be part of the Green River Festival in Greenfield, MA (6/24-6/26). Festival visitors can enjoy performances on its porch (where it will serve as the Green House Stage) and can sign up for tours led by our students and faculty.

Project Background

This project was started by a group of students and instructors in 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19. Vaccinated and itching to finish the build, we have a new group of students who will be completing the project by this summer (2022).

The HyggeHaus is a modular, 350 sq. ft, Net Zero, Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). Although it may seem like the name for this project came to life in a bowl of alphabet soup, there is a deeper meaning. The students and instructors listed above named the project after the word Hygge, “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being”. In addition to the feeling of Hygge, this house aims to educate the public on high performance construction, construction practices, low load mechanical systems selection and installation, performance verification, and carbon accounting.

Once completed, the HyggeHaus will be transported to the Green River Music Festival (June 24 – June 26 2022) where it will serve as an Auxiliary Stage. Some members of the team will be there to enjoy the music and answer any questions relating to the project. After its debut, the house will be transported to its final destination in Holyoke where it will serve as an affordable housing option. Until then, our team will be building the transportable structure every Saturday at East Branch Studio so stay tuned for weekly updates on the home page.

We Need Your Help

We are planning to repeat this exciting project on a regular basis. You can support this effort with a donation here:

Give to the Design-Build Program

Links

Transportation timelapse
Interview with WRSI
Project blog

The post Visit the UMass Design-Build “HyggeHaus” this weekend at the Green River Festival appeared first on Building and Construction Technology.