INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

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IUPUI HELPS HABITAT CONSTRUCT FIRST "GREEN" HOUSE IN INDIANA

INDIANAPOLIS - Thanks to the initiative and work of IUPUI interior design students, Betty and Nathan King will live in what is believed to be Indiana's first "green" Habitat for Humanity house. Low flow toilets and sinks, ceramic tile made from recycled windshields, and energy efficient lighting are just some of the features the Kings can look forward to in their new Habitat home.

Volunteers from the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, a construction sponsor, will build the house in only six days beginning May 7 and finishing May 12. The house is located on the southeast side at Perkins Avenue and Van Buren Street. The build will kickoff Habitat for Humanity's 25th anniversary celebration to be held in Indianapolis where 25 houses will be constructed over a period of five months.

Interior design Assistant Professor Liz Coles decided to involve students in her Sustainable Design in Engineering and Technology class in the project to give them a real-life learning experience that would also allow them to give back to the community. The students chose to make the house as environmentally friendly or "green" as possible. To do that, they worked closely with the Kings to find out their color and material choices and then solicited "green" donations from companies to closely match the family's tastes.

Other "green" aspects of the house include indigenous plants that require no extra water, paint with low levels of the volatile organic compounds that create its noxious smell, both an energy-efficient hot water heater and air conditioning refrigerant, and a high insulation rate.

The interior design students will pitch in to paint the interior on Thursday, May 10 from 9 a.m.-noon and from 3-4 p.m., they will work on landscaping. Faculty, staff and students from the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI will handle the rest of the construction.

The house will be dedicated on May 12.

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