Evelyn & Harold Hay Fund
The Evelyn and Harold Hay Fund was established at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in the early 1990s to support research and teaching related activities of students and faculty in the areas of passive solar building design and water in architecture. Mr. Harold Hay, a chemist and inventor, began his work with Cal Poly architecture and engineering faculty in the mid-1970s when his innovative Skytherm House was built in Atascadero, CA. This house was recognized in the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial and has yet to be surpassed for its outstanding performance in passive solar heating and cooling through the use of movable insulation and water bags on the roof, appropriately named a "roof pond" system. Through the generous gift of Mr. Hay and his wife, Evelyn, Cal Poly has revitalized research and teaching interests to promote the scientific and design-oriented study of passive solar architecture including water as a building material to modulate interior temperatures.
In addition to the gift of the Skytherm House in Atascadero, California, donors Mr. Harold Hay and his wife Evelyn have provided funds for Cal Poly student and faculty projects to support further study in the areas of passive solar architecture, water in architecture and innovative building systems. A program for intercampus faculty and student research was also created in 1999 that builds on and extends similar goals for pushing innovation in the development of water, solar energy, and conservation in building design.
Harold R. Hay
Harold R. Hay was born in Spokane, Washington March 30, 1909. He graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He was employed by Monsanto Chemical Company at St. Louis, MO where he developed a formula for a new wood preservative which was marketed world-wide. He subsequently worked with a wide range of firms and agencies including the Celotex Corp., the USDA Agriculture Research Station in Peoria, IL, the Philadelphia Quartz Company, Aktiebolaget Defibrator (Sweden), Housing and Home Finance Agency (Washington, DC), Armour Research Corp. (Caracas, Venezuela), and the United Nations Special Fund (Bogota, Columbia). Harold Hay was involved in academic and professional research through his own consultancy and through scholarly institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, US Dept of Housing and Urban Development, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, University of Miami, International Solar Energy Society, and the American Solar Energy Society. He was married to Evelyn Lenore Joss of St. Louis, MO for 48 years who was a partner with Harold in their beliefs about zero-population growth and international service. Evelyn Hay sacrificed her career to assist her husband through his endeavors until her death at 72 years of age due to cancer. Harold Hay passed away in 2009 after a brief illness.
Skytherm House
The Atascadero, California house that once earned distinction as the "most energy efficient house in America" is part of a $1 million dollar gift from the Evelyn and Harold Hay Fund to the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED). The donor, Harold R. Hay, was a Los Angeles-area scientist, inventor and building materials expert. Known as the Skytherm House, the three-bedroom, two-bath structure was built in 1973. The house received international acclaim for its simple and affordable solar heating and cooling system, which consists of a series of "roof pond" water elements and insulation panels. In the early 1970s, a HUD grant funded a research program to develop solar energy and construct the house in Atascadero. The house received the only recognition in the categories of environmental and solar energy during the nation's Bicentennial in 1976, including a citation from President Ford and a commendation from the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission as an example of American housing for the next 100 years. Hay donated the solar-heated and passively cooled house to CAED at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (the first house in America using Hay's patented skytherm principle) to further the study of alternative energy systems at Cal Poly.