Read the rest of Empowerhouse Moves Beyond the Solar Decathlon to Become Real Housing in DC

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 2011 solar decathlon, dc. affordable housing, eco home, eco housing, empower house, empowerhouse, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green housing, habitat for humanity, Management and Urban Policy at The New School, milano school, Milano School of International Affairs, parsons, passive house, Solar Decathlon, stevens institute of technology, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, the new school, washington d.c.

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

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 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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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 2011 solar decathlon, design for disaster, disaster recovery, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, illinois solar decathlon home, natural disaster, Prefab, prefab home, Prefab Housing, rapid response, re-home, rehome, Re_home, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011, solar decathlon rehome, solar home, student project, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, team illinois, university of illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, 4D home, Department of Energy, eco design, ecosystem, energy efficient, Green Building, green competition, green design, heat pump, hybrid solar thermal panels, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, massart, net zero energy home, rainwater management, recycled greywater, Recycled Materials, recycled rainwater, renewable energy, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, solar array, solar competition, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011, solar panels, Solar Power, stormwater management, student design, sunpower, sustainable design, Team Massachusetts, u mass, university of massachusetts lowell, us department of energy, who is winning the solar decathlon

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

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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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, affordability solar decathlon, empowerhouse, empowerhouse solar decathlon, parsons empowerhouse, parsons ns stevens, parsons the new school for design, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon winners, solar panels, Solar Power, stevens empowerhouse, stevens institute of technology

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

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, eggshell paint, Green Building, local food, local materials, Middlebury College, middlebury self-reliance, middlebury solar decathlon, middlebury vermont, natural finishes, renewable energy, Self-Reliance, self-reliance solar decathlon house, solar decathlon homes, solar hot water, solar panels, solar photovoltaics, solar pv, sugar maple, sunpower 225 solar panels, Sustainable Building, Sustainable Materials, sustainably harvested wood, vermont slate, vermont solar decathlon, white oak

Read the rest of PHOTOS: Ohio State University’s Solar Decathlon enCORE House Does More with Less in a 900 Sq Foot Space

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, Architecture, “energy efficiency”, “solar energy”, “sustainable architecture”, Eco Architecture, eco building, eco design, enCORE, encore house, energy efficient, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Ohio State, ohio state solar decathlon, ohio state university, osu, Recycled Materials, renewable energy, self sufficiency, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, Solar Decathlon, Solar Power, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials, united states solar decathlon house

Read the rest of Team Canada’s TRTL Solar Decathlon House is a Modern Take on a Native American Home

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, canada solar decathlon, Department of Energy, eco design, ecosystem, energy efficient, Green Building, green competition, green design, net zero energy home, rainwater management, recycled greywater, Recycled Materials, recycled rainwater, renewable energy, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, solar array, solar competition, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011, solar panels, Solar Power, stormwater management, student design, sustainable design, Team Canada, Titanwall SIP, TRTL, TRTL house, turtle house, University of Calgary, us department of energy, who is winning the solar decathlon

We’ve been sitting on the edges of our seats all day, anxiously awaiting today’s Engineering Contest results at the 2011 Solar Decathlon. The results were just announced, and we’re happy to report that Team New Zealand’s First Light House has taken the title! The team’s win is certainly well-deserved, and we admit we already found ourselves swooning over the design well before we even started touring the National Mall in last week. Built by students from the Victoria University of Wellington, the beach house inspired First Light home pays homage to the students’ gorgeous country with its locally sourced materials, ample windows and doors, and an invigorating smell of freshly cut cedar that lets you know you’re home.

Read the rest of Team New Zealand’s First Light House Wins the Engineering Contest at the 2011 Solar Decathlon

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, 2011 solar decathlon architecture, eco design, energy efficient, Engineering Contest winner 2011 Solar Decathlon, First Light Home, first light house, First Light solar decathlon, Green Building, green design, Kiwi Bach, native plants, New Zealand, New Zealand Solar Decathlon, NZ solar decathlon, Recycled Materials, renewable energy, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, solar deacthlon 21011, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon engineering category, solar decathlon NZ house, sustainable design, team new zealand, team New Zealand solar decathlon, university of wellington, us department of energy, victoria university of wellington

Read the rest of SCI-Arc & Caltech’s Solar Decathlon CHIP House is a Crazy Inside-Out Prefab

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, California Institute of Technology, caltech decathlon team, CHIP House, chip house decathlon team, energy management, exsulation, exterior insulation, Green Building, green design, sci arc decathlon team, SCI-Arc & Caltech, solar array, solar decathlon chip house, solar decathlon ipad app, solar panels, solar photovoltaics, Solar Power, solar pv, southern california institute of architecture

Read the rest of University of Maryland’s WaterShed Solar Decathlon House Takes First Place In Architecture!

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, Chesapeake Bay, Cistern, Competition, constructed wetlands, Department of Energy, eco design, ecosystem, energy efficient, Green Building, green competition, green design, Maryland, Miele, rainwater management, recycled greywater, Recycled Materials, recycled rainwater, renewable energy, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, solar competition, Solar Decathlon, solar panels, Solar Power, stormwater management, student design, team maryland, team maryland watershed, University of Maryland, us department of energy, water shed, Watershed, watershed house, who is winning the solar decathlon

Read the rest of Team Purdue’s Suburban INhome Rises to First Place in the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, air to air heat pump, Bio Wall, eco house, green house, Illinios Solar decathlon, indiana solar decathlon home, INhome, InHouse, middle america style home, Midwestern style green building, plant air flitration, Purdue InHome, Purdue solar decathlon, Purdue University green home, Solar Decathlon 2011, solar decathlon inhome, solar home competition, solar panels, Solar Power, solar prefab home, solar pv, suburban solar decathlon post, team purdue, team purdue university, tract home

Read the rest of Tidewater Virginia’s Unit 6 Unplugged Solar Decathlon House Embraces History and Tradition

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "solar energy", "sustainable architecture", 2011 solar decathlon, Architecture, Eco Architecture, eco building, eco design, energy efficient, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, Recycled Materials, renewable energy, self sufficiency, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, Solar Decathlon, Solar Power, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials, Team Tidewater Virginia, Team Virginia, tidewater virginia