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This mobiLANDING, a sheltered workspace located at the university’s Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site on Beech Mountain, was designed and built by Appalachian State University students. Its features include locally sourced lumber and bifacial solar panels, which power the structure’s lighting and tie back into the electrical grid. Photo by Marie Freeman

Appalachian students build research structure at Beech Mountain

“Being a team leader has given me great experience that I will be able to apply in the workforce. … The most valuable thing I learned is that with good leadership, even seemingly impossible tasks can be completed.”

building sciences major Christian Najafi, a rising senior from Hendersonville

By Meghan McCandless
Posted June 4, 2018 at 11:30 a.m.

BOONE, N.C. — Students enrolled in the Integrative Design Experience Laboratory (IDEXlab) at Appalachian State University have completed the mobiLANDING, a sheltered workspace located at the university’s Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site on Beech Mountain.

The mobiLANDING is a docking station for the MOBILab, the university’s energy-independent mobile classroom built in 2015. mobiLANDING provides a storage facility and covered space for workshops and trainings hosted at the Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site. The structure consists of a concrete foundation, locally sourced lumber for the decking and trusses, corrugated metal roofing and bifacial solar panels. The solar panels power the lighting for the structure and tie back into the electrical grid.

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Signatures adorn a section of the mobiLANDING structure. All students who worked on the project signed their name. Photo by Marie Freeman

A small team of graduate students began the project in 2017 under the guidance of Jason Miller, associate professor in Appalachian’s Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment. The project culminated with the mobiLANDING’s grand opening on April 27.

During spring 2018, 15 undergraduate students, along with three graduate students, took the concept designed in 2017 and built the physical structure. Led by Miller, along with practitioner-in-residence Chelsea Helms and associate professor Dr. Jamie Russell, both faculty in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, the group met their goal of establishing an interactive learning community that showcases sustainable building practices and facilitates research.

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Dean Phyllis Kloda of the College of Fine and Applied Arts speaks at the structure’s recent grand opening. Pictured far left is student Gabe Talavera, of Boone, who worked on the IDEXlab team in 2017–18. Others at right of Kloda are, from left, alumnus Adrian Tate Right of IONCON PLLC engineering firm; Dr. Jeremy Ferrell, assistant professor; alumni Chris Noel and Daniel Farmer, both part of Appalachian’s IDEXlab team in 2015–16; senior Ashley Winecoff, of Cornelius, who worked on construction of mobiLANDING; and graduate student Leah Simmerman, who worked on the design of mobiLANDING. Photo by Marie Freeman

According to Helms, the mobiLANDING project provided unparalleled experiential learning. She estimates the students spent approximately 3,500 hours building the structure, often in extreme weather.

“In this particular experience, the students rose to a new level of passion and dedication, overcoming some of the harshest weather conditions in IDEXlab project history,” she said. “These students are what make these projects reality, and they have, yet again, transformed a design idea into a product that will impact the community by providing a learning platform for wind research and education.”

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The MOBILab logo on the side of the newly constructed mobiLANDING structure. mobiLANDING acts as a docking station for MOBILab, an energy-independent mobile classroom built by IDEXlab students in 2015. Photo by Marie Freeman

“Being a team leader has given me great experience that I will be able to apply in the workforce. … The most valuable thing I learned is that with good leadership, even seemingly impossible tasks can be completed.”

building sciences major Christian Najafi, a rising senior from Hendersonville

IDEXlab project manager Christian Najafi, a senior from Hendersonville majoring in building sciences, is grateful for both the leadership experience and the hands-on nature of the work.

“Being a team leader has given me great experience that I will be able to apply in the workforce,” he shared. “The most valuable thing I learned is that with good leadership, even seemingly impossible tasks can be completed. If something doesn’t work out the first time, then come up with another solution. Don’t give up too quickly.”

Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site
Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site

Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment

At an elevation of 5,500 feet, the Beech Mountain Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site is a unique program to give first-hand experience with wind power technology in a world-class, class 5 wind resource. Beech Mountain is the premier site in the U.S. for research, durability testing and demonstration of small wind turbine technology. Operating as an off-campus research facility of Appalachian’s Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, students and faculty gain experience in wind turbine and tower technology, maintenance and operation of wind turbines and data collection and analysis. Appstate also uses the site for wind energy education and hosts numerous training workshops.

Learn more
Sonsight Wind funds prototype testing of their new three-kilowatt small wind turbine at Appalachian’s Beech Mountain Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site
Sonsight Wind funds prototype testing of their new three-kilowatt small wind turbine at Appalachian’s Beech Mountain Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site
Nov. 29, 2017

Appalachian State University received funding from Sonsight Wind to prototype test a new three-kilowatt small wind turbine at Appalachian’s Beech Mountain Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site in Banner Elk.

Read the story

About the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment

One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment at Appalachian State University features an integrated array of programs spanning the fields of sustainable design and technology. Its mission is to foster a strong and vibrant culture of inquiry, discovery and innovation that integrates theory with application, problem seeking with problem-solving, local issues with global perspectives and technological progress with environmental stewardship. It offers bachelor’s degrees in sustainable technology and building science, and a master’s degree in technology. Learn more at https://stbe.appstate.edu.

About the College of Fine and Applied Arts

Appalachian State University’s College of Fine and Applied Arts is a dynamic and innovative group of seven academic departments, bringing together a variety of perspectives, experiences and real-world education to provide unique opportunities for student success. The college has more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate majors. Its departments are Applied Design, Art, Communication, Military Science and Leadership, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, and Theatre and Dance. Learn more at https://faa.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

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Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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