By Ball State University Communications—
MUNCIE, IN — Ball State University’s Alley House—a student-designed, energy-efficient duplex in Indianapolis that captured international attention with a first-place finish in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Solar Decathlon Build Challenge—has received another national honor: the Phius Certified Project Design Award in the biannual Phius Certified Project Design Competition.
The award recognizes outstanding achievement in high-performance building design. Phius (Passive House Institute US) Certified Projects represent the highest standard in sustainable housing, requiring rigorous benchmarks for energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and environmental stewardship. The Alley House earned its Phius CORE certification in 2024, meeting stringent performance metrics that few residential projects achieve nationwide.
The winning team includes faculty co-leads Dr. Tom Collins, associate professor of Architecture, and Pamela Harwood, professor of Architecture; Walter Grondzik, professor emeritus of architecture; Dan Porzel and Anne Rendaci (Cedar Street Builders); and student team lead Nik Seiber. The group was recognized at PhiusCon 2025, held Oct. 7-8 at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, where Dr. Collins and Prof. Harwood presented their research paper, “Post-Occupancy Evaluation of the Alley House,” and accepted the award on behalf of the team.
“We’re deeply honored that the Alley House continues to receive national recognition for its innovation, sustainability, and social impact,” Prof. Harwood said. “This project reflects years of hard work by our students, faculty, and community partners—and the fulfillment that comes from creating affordable housing that also models environmental responsibility and human well-being.”
The Alley House was designed and built through Ball State’s Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning(ECAP) in partnership with Englewood Community Development Corporation, Gratus Development, and Cedar Street Builders. Located on Indianapolis’s Near Eastside, the duplex is part of the 40-unit Englewood Homes affordable infill housing development—and stands as the only net-positive energy duplex in the project. It provides affordable, energy-efficient rent-to-own housing for two families and serves as a prototype for equitable urban infill development.
The home’s advanced design features include a super-insulated envelope (R-40 walls, R-92 roof), triple-glazed windows, a solar PV array that produces a net-positive energy balance, and rainwater collection systems that store more than 1,000 gallons for reuse. Earlier this year, the Alley House team presented performance data showing an Energy Use Intensity of 17.94 kBTU/ft²/yr—well below the Phius threshold for zero-energy housing—and a HERS score of 47 (-15 with on-site renewables).
This latest award continues a notable run of national honors for the Alley House project. In 2023, Ball State earned the top overall prize in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Build Challenge, one of only 10 teams ever to do so since the competition’s inception.
“Projects like the Alley House exemplify Ball State’s mission to create meaningful, sustainable solutions that improve communities across Indiana and beyond,” Dr. Collins said. “The technical and social innovation at the heart of this project continues to inspire the next generation of architects and designers.”
The Alley House is one of Ball State’s many Immersive Learning projects—high-impact learning experiences that involve collaborative student-driven teams guided by faculty mentors. Students earn credit for working with community partners such as businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies to address community challenges through the creation of a product that has a lasting impact.
Learn more about Alley House in this Ball State blog post. ECAP also maintains a Solar Decathlon site with additional information about Alley House, the students’ journey through this project, and the impact on the Englewood neighborhood.
About Ball State
Founded in 1918 and located in Muncie, Ball State University is one of Indiana’s premier universities and an economic driver for the state. Ball State’s 20,000 students come from all over Indiana, the nation, and the world. The 790-acre campus is large enough to accommodate first-rate facilities and 19 NCAA Division I sports, but our welcoming campus is small enough to ensure the friendliness, personal attention, and access that are the hallmarks of the University.
