Matt Hogan ’11 Knows Green Design
Matt Hogan knows green design, something the 2011 University of Oregon graduate is gaining recognition for quickly. In just the first five months of 2011, the architecture graduate student was awarded the Dean’s Graduate Fellowship at the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts, was one of the few students selected to present research at the 2011 National Solar Conference and won the Architectural Research Centers Consortium’s (ARCC) King Student Medal for Excellence in Architectural and Environmental Design Research.
“I’ve always been interested in housing design – how people live, how people interact with their dwelling,” Hogan says. “As I started practicing, I became more and more interested in energy efficiency.” More than 40 percent of U.S. residential building stock is older than 1970, creating a huge opportunity for homeowners to reassess their home’s energy efficiency.
After earning his undergraduate degree in architecture at Virginia Tech, Hogan, along with three of his former classmates, won a green building design competition through the U.S. Green Building Council. The success of this project led Hogan to hone in on energy-efficient housing.
His research focuses on Passive House, a design concept that rethinks the overall building envelope and ventilation system. Complex energy modeling software, life-cycle costing, and energy audits – on-site visits to survey and measure energy efficiency – helped him articulate how the overall framework of existing housing can be made more energy efficient.
His research on retrofitting a single-family house in Eugene to the Passive House standard was presented at the 2011 National Solar Conference in North Carolina. He hopes to self-publish his thesis, "A Design Approach to Achieving the Passive House Standard in a Home Energy Retrofit."
“The biggest thing I realized throughout this whole experience has been that, without collaboration with other disciplines, my thesis would never have been possible,” says Hogan. “I have a limit to my knowledge, and learning from others’ expertise has been really beneficial.”
Architecture Professor Alison Kwok, who has collaborated closely with Hogan and his research, said his work is an exemplar example of energy retrofitting.
“Matt prepared himself well for this challenge,” says Kwok. “[He] travelled across the country three times last summer to attend the Passive House training sessions and has beautifully executed this thesis. He has been great to work with over the past two years.” The Passive House Consultants' Training Program, offered by the Passive House Institute US, consists of nine days of instruction taught in three sessions. Instruction covers the principles of passive house design and use of proprietary energy modeling software.
As for post-graduation plans, Hogan is considering teaching or working at an architecture firm. “Right now, I’m just working on taking my licensing exams, doing some job searching and trying to enjoy my summer here in Eugene,” says Hogan.