Connecticut

QA Designs, Builds and Donates Custom Dollhouse for NHSW Design Competition

Hartford, CT – Quisenberry Arcari Architects was one of six Connecticut architecture firms that recently participated in the Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury’s (NHSW) 1st Annual Home Matters design competition, which challenged designers, architects, and artists to design and build dollhouses to be auctioned off at its dinner and benefit that took place at La Bella Vista in Waterbury on March 16th.

 

The competition solicited the creation of dollhouses that are both aesthetically pleasing and relevant to all demographics. Inspiration for QA’s dollhouse included the huge surplus of shipping containers in the US, the shortage of decent affordable housing, and the fact that the energy expended to melt down and reuse shipping container steel is equal to the average US household’s annual energy use.  The culmination of nearly six months of deciding, designing and building, QA’s dollhouse incorporates six shipping containers with a traditionally-framed wooden core and a pre-fab SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) roof on the clearstory. The dollhouse uses a 1-to-12 scale (one inch equals one foot) and features 3 highly-insulated, energy-efficient 3-bedroom/2-bath apartments.

 

“Recycled shipping containers can make perfect modular buildings that can be built economically,” said Jeff Jahnke, AIA, QA Architects’ project designer. “Our dollhouse is testimony to this fact. The firm is proud to dedicate our time to the NHSW, and we support its mission of revitalizing the City of Waterbury through the design and construction of affordable homes.”