Read the rest of Electric Utility To Buy University of Maryland’s Solar Decathlon-Winning WaterShed House

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Post tags: design contests, energy efficient design, green architecture, green design, Pepco, photovoltaic, solar, Solar Decathlon, solar thermal, sustainable design, University of Maryland, Watershed

The U.S. Department of Energy has just announced the location of the 2013 Solar Decathlon – as well as the 20 lucky teams who will be competing for green design glory! After being kicked off the National Mall last year, organizers scrambled to find a back up location – and they’ve found a gem in the Golden State. This fall, the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California will be filled with energy-efficient prefab homes as they duke it out to see which house can generate the most solar energy!

Read the rest of U.S. Department of Energy Announces the 2013 Solar Decathlon is Coming to California!

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Post tags: Department of Energy, orange county great park, orange county great park solar decathlon, solar, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon 2013, solar decathlon 2013 news, solar decathlon news, SOLAR HOMES, solar news, Solar Power, solar powered homes, U. S. Department of Energy

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Post tags: American University of Cairo, AUC, cairo, design for humanity, eco design, egypt, egypt violence, Green Building, green design, military crackdowns, SLIDES, social design, Solar Decathlon, Solar Power, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Here at Inhabitat we’re suckers for the Solar Decathlon — the biennial design/build competition in which university design teams from all around the globe battle it out on the National Mall in Washington DC to see who can design and build the best solar-powered home. This year’s Solar Decathlon was a nail-biter of a competition, but it was the University of Maryland team which ultimately triumphed over all the other teams with an elegant, water-conservation focused home called WaterShed. We were fascinated by this beautiful winning home, and sat down with project design lead and student designer David Gavin to find out more about how the house came together. David is a second year Masters of Architecture student at the University of Maryland and he’s dreamed of being a Solar Decathlon contender since before he started school. Read on for our insider interview with Gavin as he explains the design of the award-winning home, and how his team utilized Building Information Modeling to streamline the design and construction processes.

This interview is brought to you by Autodesk – Removing the barriers to better business.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: University of Maryland Wins Big at the 2011 Solar Decathlon

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, 2d/3d cad, 3D representation, 3d studio max, 3DS, Architecture, autdocad, autodesk, BIM, building information modeling, Building Modeling, CAD, computer aided design, constructed wetlands, david gavin, green design, green roof, greywater filtration, local materials, rainwater catchment, solar panels, solar photovoltaics, Solar Power, solar power competition, solar power design, solar power homes, solar pv, Sustainable Building, team maryland solar decathlon, team maryland watershed house, University of Maryland, Using BIM For Green Building, virtual design and construction, water usage, Watershed, watershed home, WaterShed Solar Decathlon House

At a West Coast Green conference in San Francisco, we were lucky enough to not only get a sneak peek of the Michelle Kaufmann mkLotus prefab house, but also to speak with the designer herself to get the low-down on the sleekly-designed zero energy home. Check out the video to learn all the details about the energy, water, and materials packed into this compact sustainable home.

Read the rest of Video Interview with Green Home Designer Michelle Kaufmann

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Post tags: City Hall, eco prefab, jill fehrenbacher, Michelle Kaufman's MKLotus Green Prefab House, Michelle Kaufmann Designs, MKDesigns, MkLotus Bedroom, MkLotus Kitchen, MKLotus Resin Sliding Door, sustainable prefab, west coast green, Zero Energy Prefab

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been having Solar Decathlon withdrawal since the biennial design-build competition ended at the beginning of the month. We’re still buzzing with excitement from the amazing student designed-homes that 19 collegiate teams displayed on the National Mall in Washington D.C., and in our latest video, we take an in-depth look at our three favorite solar-powered prefab homes that battled it out for the crown of the 2011 Solar Decathlon! Even if you already know who won the competition, check out our video to see the race to the finish line for Team Maryland‘s graceful green-roofed WaterShed home, Ohio State‘s elegant enCORE house, and SCI-Arc and Caltech‘s innovative inside-out CHIP House. Watch the video to find out which team reigned supreme!

Read the rest of VIDEO: Announcing the Winner of the 2011 Solar Decathlon

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, 2011 solar decathlon winners, CalTech, CHIP House, chip house solar decathlon, encore house, encore solar decathlon house, Green Building, green design, inhabitat video, ohio solar decathlon, Ohio State, ohio state solar decathlon, ohio state university, Prefab Homes, Sci-Arc, SCI-Arc & Caltech, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon houses, solar decathlon video, solar panels, Solar Power, solar power homes, Sustainable Building, team maryland watershed, team ohio state, University of Maryland, university of maryland solar decathlon, watershed house, WaterShed Solar Decathlon House

Read the rest of Team Florida’s Solar Decathlon FLeX House Harnesses Passive Design to Keep its Cool in Hot Climates

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 2011 solar decathlon, eco design, FLeX House, florida, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green home, Prefab, prefab home, Prefab Housing, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011, solar home, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, team Florida

Read the rest of Team China Fuses High & Low Tech With The Y Container Solar Decathlon House

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Post tags: 'Container House, 2011 solar decathlon, china container house, eco house, green home, phase change walls, Solar array shading, solar decathlon Team China, solar hot water, Tonji University solar decathlon, Vacuum insulated panels, Y Container

Read the rest of Florida International’s perFORM[D]ance Solar Decathlon House Responds to Its Environment

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Post tags: eco design, florida international university, glazing system, green design, louvers, Murphy Bed, Paul Rudolph, perFORM[D]ance House, photovoltaic roof, Solar Decathlon, sustainable design

Read the rest of Team Belgium’s E-Cube 2011 Solar Decathlon House is a DIY Modular Kit-Home

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, belgian, belgium, e-cube, e-cube house, eco design, energy efficient, ghent university e-cube, Green Building, green design, Recycled Materials, renewable energy, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, Solar Decathlon, student competition, sustainable design, team belgium, team belgium e-cube, team belgium solar decathlon

Read the rest of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Affordable Re_Home is Prepped for Natural Disaster Recovery

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The results of the 2011 Solar Decathlon have just been announced, and the winner is University of Maryland WaterShed house! The beautiful water-conservation themed house has been leading the competition pretty much since the first day that the Solar Decathlon kicked off, taking first place in the architecture contest and scoring in the top five in almost every contest; from engineering to communications. The WaterShed Home, which was inspired by the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, has been battling it out with 18 other eco-friendly prefab homes built by collegiate architecture & engineering teams on the National Mall for the biennial design-build competition to see who can build the best solar-powered home. While harnessing the sun’s energy is obviously the highlight of the Solar Decathlon, the uniqui WaterShed House design also focused heavily on water usage, a characteristic that no doubt helped it win first place in this esteemed competition.

Read the rest of University of Maryland WaterShed House Wins the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, constructed wetlands, green design, green roof, greywater filtration, local materials, rainwater catchment, solar panels, solar photovoltaics, Solar Power, solar power competition, solar power design, solar power homes, solar pv, Sustainable Building, team maryland solar decathlon, team maryland watershed house, University of Maryland, water usage, Watershed, watershed home, WaterShed Solar Decathlon House

We’re thrilled to announce that this weekend Team Purdue took second place in the 2011 Solar Decathlon! Purdue’s sensible, suburban-style INhome received top marks throughout the competition due to its focus on energy efficiency, mass ‘marketability’, and tried-and-true green building techniques. The team keep Maryland’s competition-winning WaterShed House on its toes throughout the past week as the INHome slipped in and out of first place. In the end the INhome beat out 17 other solar homes from around the world at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and there’s no doubt that their carefully created SIP wall construction and efficient solar-powered cooling system helped them blow the competition out of the water.

Read the rest of Team Purdue’s Suburban INhome Takes 2nd Place in the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

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Read the rest of Team Massachusetts’ 4D Solar Decathlon Home is a 21st-Century Take on the Gable House

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The WaterShed Solar Decathlon house, built by students from the University of Maryland, has taken first place in the design-build competition’s architecture category! And we are not surprised. Ever since we set foot on the National Mall, where WaterShed is currently competing with 18 other eco-friendly prefab homes, we have been ogling the house’s beautiful design, which was inspired by the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. WaterShed‘s design focuses heavily on water usage, incorporating constructed wetlands and a green roof that collects and filters the home’s greywater so it can be reused.

Read the rest of Team Maryland Wins the Architecture Contest at the 2011 Solar Decathlon

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, 2011 solar decathlon architecture, appalachian state, Architecture Contest, architecture solar decathlon, architecture winner solar decathlon, First Light, Green Building, greywater, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon architecture category, Solar Homestead, team maryland, team new zealand, university of maryland watershed, Watershed

The 2011 Solar Decathlon is heating up as 20 teams of students from around the world construct stunning, energy-efficient homes at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. The competition officially opens on September 23rd, but we’re excited to bring you a first look at each of this year’s incredible solar powered homes – hit the jump to check out the state of the art in green building!

Read the rest of 20 Stunning Energy-Efficient Homes in the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

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Post tags: 4D home, Appalachian State university, CHIP home, e-cube, eco design, empowerhouse, enCORE, ENJOY House, First Light, FLeX House, florida international university, green design, habitat for humanity, Hale Pilihonua, hawaii, INhome, living light, Middlebury College, National Mall's West Potomac Park, Ohio State, parsons, perFORM[D], Purdue University, Re_home, Self-Reliance, Solar Decathlon, Solar Homestead, Solar Roofpod, Souther California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology, sustainable design, team belgium, Team Canada, Team China, team Florida, Team Massachusetts, Team New Jersey, Team New York, Team Tidewater Virginia, Tongji University, TRTL, Unit 6 Unplugged, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland, University of Tennessee, victoria university of wellington, washington d.c., Watershed, Y Container

Read the rest of Appalachian State’s Solar Homestead Brings Adaptability and Independent Living to the 2011 Solar Decathlon

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Post tags: appalachian, appalachian state, cheap energy, Climate Change, CO2, DOE, eco house, energy efficient, Environment, environmental design, green architecture, green design, green living, green technology, infrastructure, modular, modular home, net zero, new technology, passive cooling, passive heating, porch, solar competition, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011, Solar Homestead, solar thermal, sustainable design, sustainable living

One of the most common arguments against building energy-efficient homes is that the upfront costs are just too high, but this year’s Solar Decathlon competition is telling another story. For the first time in the design-build contest’s history, the sustainably built prefab homes were judged in the category of affordability. If a home cost under $250,000 to build, the team won full points — and guess what? Not one, but two teams achieved full points! The Empowerhouse, built by students from Parsons the New School for Design and the Stevens Institute of Technology, took first place in the category, with a final cost of $229,000. Affordability played a key role in the team’s design, as Empowerhouse will actually be a Habitat for Humanity home for a Washington, D.C. family after the Solar Decathlon ends. Hit the jump to see the house for yourself!

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Read the rest of Middlebury College’s Self-Reliance Solar Decathlon House Wins Communications Contest!

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Read the rest of Vote For Your Favorite House in the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", chip, eco design, empowerhouse, enCORE, First Light, green architecture, Green Building, green design, inhabitat, inhabitat reader's choice, inhabitat readers poll, INhome, Ohio State, parsons + stevens, poll, prefab home, purdue, sci_arc/caltech, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011, student project, sustainable design, Team Canada, team new zealand, TRTL, University of Maryland, Washington DC, Watershed