Sahuaro Project (Year2): Integrating Fire-Resistant Insulation into a Sustainable Housing Design for Arizona
Sustainability and Renewable Energy- Grade:
- 12
- Teacher:
- Jacko Kim Mabeza
The Sahuaro Project (Year 2) focuses on designing an innovative and sustainable housing model capable of withstanding Arizona’s extreme environmental conditions, including wildfire, heat, and structural stress. Building on the first year’s resilient housing design, this phase introduced a fire-resistant insulation system made from recycled paper, polyvinyl acetate (PVA), and sodium tetraborate decahydrate (borax). The insulation was tested for thermal performance, structural strength, and fire resistance using surface temperature analysis, Vernier materials testing, and controlled burning experiments. Results showed that increasing insulation thickness significantly improved structural strength and fire resistance, while maintaining stable surface temperatures. Ungrinded samples demonstrated greater mechanical strength and longer burn resistance, while grinded samples showed slightly improved thermal stability. Overall, this project demonstrates that integrating a fire-proof, recycled insulation system into sustainable housing design can enhance disaster resilience in wildfire-prone regions of Arizona.