Tag: solar-decathlon | ArchDaily

Solar Decathlon Europe: Sustainable Lighting Combines Engineering and Design

Thomas Schielke — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 03:30:00 +0000

The motto of the Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 was to convert and expand rather than to demolish and reconstruct. Recycling windows, using biodegradable materials for luminaires and connecting light with sensors represented just some innovative examples of the international university-level student competition in Wuppertal, Germany. For the first time, the competition presented an award for sustainable architectural lighting. This was a question of quality as much as quantity, and that applies equally to daylight and artificial light.

Winners of 2021 Solar Decathlon Design and Build Challenges Construct Houses for a Cleaner Future

Dima Stouhi — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 06:30:00 +0000

The United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm announced the winners of the 2021 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon, a competition that challenges architecture and engineering college students from around the world to design and construct high-performance buildings powered by renewable energy. 72 competing teams hailed from 12 countries and designed energy-efficient residential and commercial spaces, nine of which were constructed and presented in the Solar Decathlon Virtual Village on the National Mall, a first of its kind, in Washington, D.C.

18 Teams from 11 countries go urban, poised to embark on the Solar Decathlon Europe 2021

Laura Cardona — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 02:30:00 +0000

The Energy Endeavour Foundation & the SDE21 Organisers in Wuppertal, Germany, are delighted to announce the competing Teams for the upcoming Solar Decathlon Europe (SDE) Competition, set for late summer 2021.

D.O.T.T.I.E. - NJIT Solar Decathlon China 2017 Exhibition

Rene Submissions — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 17:42:00 +0000

NJIT's Solar Decathlon Studio will be hosting a gallery exhibition showcasing drawings and 3D models of D.O.T.T.I.E. (Digitally Operated TecTonic Integrated Environment), a single-family, sustainable house that integrates the digital and the analog, local traditions and global considerations, and designers from the U.S. and China. The house, a modular structure that can be digitally fabricated, is inspired by Chinese vernacular architecture and will accommodate four generations. The design will be judged in July after the house is built in Dezhou, China.

From Dusk to New Dawn: How the Solar Decathlon Can Be Saved

Derek Ouyang and Rob Best — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 09:30:00 +0000

With the close of the seventh Solar Decathlon competition last month in Irvine, California, we couldn't help but reflect on our own experience in the 2013 competition as leaders of Start.Home - Stanford University's first entry into the US Department of Energy (DOE)'s biennial net-zero energy home competition which ultimately placed fifth. With the advantage of two years of hindsight, we can now clearly see that our experience in the Decathlon has had incredible educational value to us, not only as students of architecture and engineering, but also as leaders and future professionals in interdisciplinary projects.

Stevens' Hurricane-Resilient SU+RE House Wins Solar Decathlon 2015

Karissa Rosenfield — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 16:05:00 +0000

A student-led team from Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) in New Jersey has won the 2015 Solar Decathlon with a “Coastal Home of the Future" - the SU+RE House. Affordable, net-zero, and entirely solar-powered, the home was inspired by the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. It hopes to serve as a prototype for coastal homes.

Is the Solar Decathlon Still Relevant?

David Douglass-Jaimes — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 09:30:00 +0000

Is the Solar Decathlon Still Relevant? The short answer is “yes,” but probably not for the reasons the United States Department of Energy intended.

20 Teams to Compete in 2015 U.S. Solar Decathlon

Karissa Rosenfield — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 01:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected 20 collegiate teams to participate in the 2015 Solar Decathlon at Irvine, California’s Orange County Great Park. The eight returning teams will compete against 12 new teams, with partners from four international schools, to build “solar-powered, highly energy-efficient houses that combine affordability, innovation, and design excellence” within the allotted two-year period. View the full list of competitors, after the break.

DALE /

Jose Luis Gabriel Cruz — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

DALE, short for Dynamic Augmented Living Environment, is this year's U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon entry for the SCI-Arc/Caltech team. Made of two movable, prefabricated modules that open to allow the outdoors in, DALE celebrates the active California lifestyle through its dynamic architecture.

UrbanEden / UNC Charlotte

Karissa Rosenfield — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The people have spoken: UNC Charlotte’s 2013 Solar Decathlon entry, UrbanEden has won the “People’s Choice Award.” Designed as an urban infill project for a couple in Charlotte, North Carolina, the net-zero solar-powered home defines itself by establishing a strong indoor and outdoor connection in the middle of the city. By enclosing the back deck with a seven-foot tall vertical garden and integrating a high-performance glass wall along the home’s south side, dwellers are presented with the unlikely option of privately enjoying the outdoors within a dense urban context.

Solar Decathlon 2013: Stanford University Places Fifth Overall, Ties First in Affordability

Jose Luis Gabriel Cruz — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Stanford University's Start.Home has won fifth place overall and tied for first place in affordability in the 2013 Solar Decathlon. Read the team’s description to learn more:

For the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013, Stanford University designed the Start.Home to provide energy efficiency at the push of a button to a new generation of environmentally conscious occupants. With modular architecture and advanced controls to optimize each component, the house aims to spark a revolution by lowering the entry barrier for an ultra-efficient house and making sustainability trendy, social, and affordable.

Solar Decathlon 2013: Stevens Institute of Technology Places Second in Architecture, Fourth Overall

Jose Luis Gabriel Cruz — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:00:00 +0000

This "L-shaped" energy smart house by the Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT), dubbed Ecohabit, won second place in the architecture category and fourth overall in this year's Solar Decathlon competition. The L-concept divides the house into two modules, "wet" and "dry". Read the team's description to learn why:

AIR House / Czech Technical University

Karissa Rosenfield — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Lauded for incorporating warm, natural wood finishes to create a “comfortable place to dwell and reenergize,” the jury of the 2013 Solar Decathlon has named Czech Technical University as winner of the competition’s “Architecture Contest,” placing them third overall.

Solar Decathlon 2013: Team Las Vegas Places Second, Wins “Market Appeal”

Karissa Rosenfield — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Placing second overall, just a few points behind the winning 2013 Solar Decathlon team, students from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (Team Las Vegas) have won the “Market Appeal” contest at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) sixth solar-home competition. Known as “DesertSol”, the project was lauded for its “livability, marketability and constructability” as well as its “appeal within the housing market of the target client chosen by team.” It is designed to be a self-reliant, energy-efficient second home for upper-middle income Americans who pursue active lifestyles in the sparsely populated Mojave Desert. Read on for the team’s project description.

Solar Decathlon 2013: Team Austria Wins Top Honors

Karissa Rosenfield — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 01:00:00 +0000

A team of Austrian students from Vienna University of Technology (Team Austria) has won top honors for “designing, building, and operating the most cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive solar-powered house” at the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon. The net-positive home, known as “LISI – Living inspired by sustainable innovation,” prides itself for being a simple, smart house that is capable of adapting to a variety of lifestyles and climate zones.

The Indicator: Why the Solar Decathlon Should Enter the Real World

Guy Horton — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t mean to poo poo the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon project, but the more I hear about it the more I wonder if this isn’t an indication of just how far behind the United States is in terms of energy policy and the design of smart environments. Are we really that far behind that we need a program like this to prove this stuff really works? Are people still disbelieving? Do they really need demonstration homes to show how photovoltaics produce electricity or how sustainable principles can be applied to architecture? I suppose it makes sense in a country that still obsesses about the Case Study Houses and has debates about climate change.

Solar Decathlon 2013

Karissa Rosenfield — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Looking for something to do this week? If you are in the greater Los Angeles area, come check out the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) sixth Solar Decathlon at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine. Currently on view through October 13, this (free!) event showcases nineteen student-built, solar-powered homes that claim to be exemplars of sustainable housing. After being closely monitored by the DOE throughout the length of the competition, one team will be crowned as winner for successfully blending affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

HALO: Swedish Students' Solar Decathlon Entry

Eric Baldwin — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Designed and built by 25 students from Chalmers University in Sweden, HALO is a socially sustainable home for four students, running on renewable energy from the sun. HALO was designed using one underlying concept: shared space is double space.