ecoMOD

ecoMOD outgrew its old website. Difficult to update, difficult to use, and out of date, the site couldn’t keep up with new projects.

It was obvious ecoMOD needed an easy to use content management system — something simple  and easy to adapt, where project managers could post updates and directors could describe finished projects.  For ecoMOD, I chose WordPress.

Open Source, standards-compliant, and super easy to use, WordPress allows ecoMOD’s participants to control their website’s content. With drag-and-drop simplicity project managers can upload images and post videos, the design team can post preliminary drawings, and the engineering team can update monitoring information with the ease of use of a word processor. WordPress lets site maintenance fade into the background. But the back-end isn’t all that changed.

The new design is lighter, simpler, and easier to use. The site menus show hierarchy, and the breadcrumbs will lead you home if you get a little lost or come in through a side door. Most importantly, the simple design showcases the ecoMOD projects: project images steal the focus from the site design — as they should. And the content is a lot easier to read too (no more tiny text-boxes). Comfortable leading and line-lengths mean the new site is built for reading, and that’s a good thing since there’s new content too.

Along with information about ecoMOD4, the latest project, the new site has information about how to build your own ecoMOD, and a new blog that keeps track of media coverage and project updates.

Check back because the team’s up to some pretty amazing things and has a website that can keep up.

Excerpt from the Daily Progress, March 9, 2010 article, “Planning Commission doles out annual awards”

— The citizen planner of the year award was given to Kay Slaughter, a former city mayor, for her comments on critical slopes on behalf of the Southern Environmental Law Center. [Kay Slaughter is an adjunct faculty member in the Dept. of Urban and Environmental Planning]

— The Eldon Fields Wood Design Professional of the Year award was given to John Quale, a University of Virginia assistant professor in architecture. Quale is the director of UVa’s ecoMOD project, which constructs and rehabilitates homes to make them more environmentally sustainable.

— The outstanding sustainable development award was given to the ecoMOD and ecoREMOD projects at UVa, which worked in partnership with the city government and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville.

Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects Newsletter, “U.Va. Professor Receives Fulbright,” Jane Ford and Fariss Samarrai, Dec-Jan 2009-10, page 11

Richmond Times Dispatch, “’Green’ home is first of its kind in Charlottesville / eco-friendly site is project of U.VA. group, Habitat,” Rachana Dixit, December 14, 2009, page A1

EcoMOD is a UVA interdisciplinary project joining UVA’s Architecture school and School of Engineering and Applied Science professors and students along with affordable housing organizations like Piedmont Housing Alliance and Habitat for Humanity. This home was a Habitat for Humanity home (the Andesha’s home) and required cooperation of MANY students groups, area businesses, and city leaders. The lofty goal of this fourth EcoMod home was a net zero carbon footprint. WOW. And they are going for a LEED platinum rating as well as fulfilling the Habitat Mission of a modest, affordable home. This is a pre-fab home with energy star features, solar roof, and other sustainable feature. To quote Habitat’s Executive Director Dan Rosenweig, to be sustainable, designs have to be attainable. This innovative, inter-disciplinary, inter-community effort is now being looked at in other parts of the world and it started with the work of Paxton Marshall and John Quale here in Charlottesville. Green hats off!!

— Better World Betty, “Building a Better World Starting Right Here!” December 13, 2009,

The Daily Progress, “Habitat, UVa’s ecoMOD unveil green home,” Rachana Dixit, December 13, 2009, page A1

Charlottesville Eco-House Shows Wave of the Future Today

The new EcoMod house in Charlottesville was the scene of a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday. The house features cutting edge energy-saving technology and will be the home of a Habitat for Humanity family.

Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission Online Newsletter, “2009 RRRC Annual Meeting and Regional Distinguished Leadership Awardees” December 2009,

Green Source, “The New Green U:  Design educators are choosing different paths for guiding tomorrow’s architects toward a carbon-free future.”  B.J. Novitski, October, 2009

WVTF-FM, “Albemarle Population Growth,” public radio, September 18, 2009