New Zealand’s First Light Solar Decathlon House Puts an Innovative Twist on the Basics

This year’s <a href="http://www.solardecathlon.gov">Solar Decathlon home design competition</a> saw many fresh takes on the solar-powered prefab home, but <a href="http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_new_zealand.html">Team New Zealand</a> stood out from the pack with its elegant, light-filled, wood clad home. Built by students from the <a href="http://www.victoria.ac.nz/">Victoria University of Wellington</a>, the beach house inspired <a href="http://firstlighthouse.ac.nz/">First Light</a> home has a breezy, open feel with the invigorating smell of freshly cut cedar planks emanating throughout. Check out our exclusive photos of this seemingly basic but surprisingly innovative house, which is currently on display at the 2011 Solar Decathlon competition on the National Mall in Washington DC.

The house's 800 square feet were well planned to create multifunctional, open spaces that can be easily converted to adapt to life's many activities.

2011 Solar Decathlon- Team New Zealand - Victoria University of Wellington's First Light Home

2011 Solar Decathlon- Team New Zealand - Victoria University of Wellington's First Light Home

Inspiration for Team New Zealand's house came from the traditional Kiwi 'bach'- a holiday home. It is a place to 'get away from it all' and enjoy nature and the basics of life.

2011 Solar Decathlon- Team New Zealand - Victoria University of Wellington's First Light Home

Left to Right: Anna Farrow, Brendan Laurence, Woody Gilmour, Eli Nuttall, Joel Foster and Ben Jagersma of Team New Zealand stand proud outside their completed energy efficient house at the 2011 Solar Decathlon in Washington DC.

Members of Team New Zealand await the arrival of visitors to their newly rejoined, 6 module house that traveled 8750 miles and was reassembled with the help of a crane. They are the first team from the Southern Hemisphere to be selected to participate in the competition.

The custom build furniture in the living space provides for ample socialization and can also be converted into a sleeping area for up to four overnight guests.

The 28 polycrystalline photovalic panels on the roof convert energy from the sun and produce 6.3 kilowatts of energy.

Between the front and back doors, the nucleus of the house revolves around a slick, high tabletop surrounded by stools and a small kitchen space. It opens up to a shared living room with a convertible sofa bed on one side and a private area on the other created by a self-contained study unit.

2011 Solar Decathlon- Team New Zealand - Victoria University of Wellington's First Light Home

A slick concrete and wood table designed by <a href="http://www.flexus.co.nz/">Flexus</a> serves as the center piece of the house, creating a social space and inviting people to share meals together.

The front and back bi-folding doors allow for the entrance of plenty of natural light. An overhanging roof provides ample shade on hot days while also adding protection when the doors are open, creating a seamless unification of the interior and exterior environments.

Many aspects of the house were custom designed by students.

A Victoria University Industrial Design student created the light that sits over the kitchen table. It was inspired by traditional Maori patterns.

The design keeps the house very open while also providing an option for refuge and intimate space.

A feature unique to the First Light house is an innovative drying cupboard that is hidden away in a compartment located in the closet space off the bedroom. Rather than installing a dryer, the team chose a cupboard which functions by pumping solar-heated water through copper tubes and a heat exchanger that in turn dries clothes quickly.

The back interior walls of the house are made of recycled New Zealand Rimu.

The light colors of the tiles in the bathroom provide for a clean, airy feeling and add a touch of color to the Rimu walls that make up the interior back of the house.

Landscaping was an important aspect of the design with planter bins filled with lush greenery at various levels around the perimeter of the house.

Not only promoting energy efficiency, the students wanted the house to encourage a lifestyle in-sync with the natural environment.

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First Light's solar envelope north plan for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

2011 Solar Decathlon- Team New Zealand - Victoria University of Wellington's First Light Home

First Light's floor plan for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

First Light's interior plan for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.