About
Who We Are
HouseLab is a design research platform dedicated to advancing sustainable and resilient housing solutions in Richmond, Virginia. Founded and led by Laura Battaglia, Licensed Architect and Assistant Professor of Interior Design at VCUarts, HouseLab emerged from a commitment to making Net Zero housing both achievable and affordable for more people.
Over the past two years, Laura and an interdisciplinary team of students have used the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Design Challenge as a vehicle for investigation—examining the intersections of energy performance, affordability, and housing equity.
Their work has drawn the attention of local partners and national experts, adding momentum and credibility to their mission.
At HouseLab, we explore pressing questions that shape the future of equitable and sustainable housing:
What makes Net Zero design genuinely sustainable for Richmond homeowners?
Why do high-performance homes remain out of reach for many—especially first-time buyers?
How can Net Zero strategies inspire and educate the next generation?
How can interior design work together with building performance to create environments that are not only efficient, but deeply human – comfortable, healthy, and restorative?
HouseLab exists to research, question, and prototype meaningful solutions—because sustainable housing should be accessible to everyone.
Our Principles
Resilience
Empathy
Sustainability
Community
Why should HouseLab have a voice in the conversation:
Richmond Community
Richmond is a city rich in history, with a vibrant arts scene and remarkable architecture. In recent years, it has also begun to embrace sustainability. Blending the old with the new, Dovetail Construction’s LEED Platinum office—completed in 2011—was recognized as the first historic, net-zero energy building in the U.S. that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As energy costs continue to rise, Richmond is well positioned to further explore the potential of net-zero design, particularly in the housing sector. In fact, it is a core component of Richmond’s “RVAgreen” climate action plan.
“While I think the mitigated operating costs are crucial, people’s health and climate change are also reasons to make net-zero design a ‘norm’.” - Julie Weissend, Dovetail Construction
VCU Interiors
The Department of Interior Design is the only department at the University dedicated exclusively to the built environment. With others like Laura Battaglia—trained in interior design, architecture, and project management—the department is uniquely positioned to lead interdisciplinary work through HouseLab. Its distinctive inside-out approach sets HouseLab apart. By centering interior space and human experience, it advances a conversation that extends beyond technical performance to emphasize design’s social and human dimensions.
Diversity
Diversity is central to the housing conversation. HouseLab’s first projects were VCU initiatives. As a minority-serving institution with many first-generation college students, VCU reflects the broader Richmond community—one with an urgent need for affordable housing for families of all kinds.
HouseLab’s work is guided by the belief that sustainable design cannot be equitable if it is unaffordable. Zero Energy homes have historically been cost-prohibitive for many, particularly first-time buyers, and require careful trade-offs among building science, cost, and aesthetics. Diversity continues to inform our ongoing work, ensuring that essential voices and lived experiences shape the design process.
Laura Battaglia, Founder of HouseLab
Laura Battaglia is an architect and educator whose work is shaped by the intersection of practice, teaching, and lived experience. She approaches home as something both deeply personal and culturally shared—designing spaces that support health, comfort, and a sense of belonging. She teaches in the Interior Design Department at VCU and practices residential design through studiobattaglia, LLC, integrating sustainable and culturally responsive research with built work.
Mehak Chopra, Collaborator of HouseLab
Mehak Chopra is a Software Research Engineer at the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM), VA. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2025 with a dual bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and economics. Her research interests include net-zero and zero-energy-ready housing, industrial IoT systems, human-in-the-loop robotics, and sustainable manufacturing. Mehak has worked on projects involving net-zero homes, robotic arms, and sustainable alternatives, and is particularly interested in bridging technical innovation with economic feasibility. Her long-term goal is to turn ambitious ideas into practical technologies that help restore balance between industry, people, and nature.
