Team Andalucian’s Patio 2.12 House Places First in Energy Efficiency and Innovation at the Solar Decathlon Europe

Over the past week, the scoreboards of the <a href="http://www.sdeurope.org/?lang=en" target="_blank">European Solar Decathlon</a> have been lighting up, and <a href="http://andaluciateam.org/wp/la-casa/" target="_blank">Team Andalucian's Patio 2.12 </a>house has found itself sitting pretty in second place. First place prizes in each Energy Efficiency, Innovation, Balance of Electricity <em>and</em> Communication -- not to mention a second place win for Sustainability -- have made the 2.12 a real contender at this year's Solar Decathlon. With <a href="http://monitoring.sdeurope.org//index.php?action=viewhouse&house=02">791.97 points</a> in tow, they are certainly giving first place team <a href="http://inhabitat.com/modular-canopea-house-by-team-rhone-alpes-has-a-crown-of-dappled-light/">Rhones-Alpes</a> a reason to shake behind their solar panels! The house consists of four separate <a href="http://inhabitat.com/green-guide-to-prefab-the-history-of-the-mobile-home-and-its-influence-on-the-modern-prefab/" target="_blank">prefabricated modules</a> built around an interior courtyard. Privacy for the inhabitants is clearly a fundamental part of the design, but the roof and walls of the inner courtyard are strategically designed to allow plenty of light into the building. The house is built on a plinth (so that the it can be removed from any site without leaving a footprint), and it comes complete with a<a href="http://inhabitat.com/building-integrated-photovoltaics-market-projected-to-quadruple-to-2-4-billion-by-2017/" target="_blank"> PV array</a> and a novel air conditioning system.

On entering the building, we got to appreciate just how light the building is. Perhaps a surprise given the lack of windows in the modules.

The ramp leading up to the house is furnished with a pond with added water features. Other than the aesthetics, it is integrated into the cooling system and the home's water recycling.

The sunlight flickers through the faux-vine effect in the roof and wall panels surrounding the courtyard area.

The roof of the courtyard is a work of art in itself. <a href="http://inhabitat.com/guardian-develops-hyper-insulating-vacuum-glass/" target="_blank">Triple-glazed windows</a> slide underneath, and thus can be opened to allow heat to escape or closed in colder weather, and a laptop hooked up to the mechanical system of the windows allows residents to control the light that enters the interior.

The walls continue this theme, with a folding patio door allowing the inner hub to be completely waterproof when required. The water features continue inside the house, linking with the inventive <a href="http://inhabitat.com/3d-printed-sand-pods-create-cooling-microclimates/" target="_blank"> wall cavity cooling system</a> that has been integrated into each module.

Taking inspiration from a classic Andalucian design for keeping water fresh in a ceramic jug, the team used this theory to keep the interior cool without relying on resource intensive air-conditioning. In the heat, the ceramics perspire and the cavity cools, but in the cold, the perspiration stops and the ceramic acts as added insulation. On touching the walls, we can confirm they were cool to the touch!

The decking in the courtyard provides ample space for interior design, allowing the residents to create an oasis of calm in the hub of the house.

Each of the four modules connected to the inner courtyard have been designed to provide different functions. During prefabrication off-site, the modules can be customized prior to construction, thus giving residents an opportunity to shape their design, while significantly reducing labor required on site.

The modules are all tastefully furnished in a manner that makes the best use of the space available.

The living room doubles as the dining area, with plenty of room for a dinner party!

On the opposite side of the building, we find a space-age kitchen. All appliances have been chosen for their <a href="http://inhabitat.com/whirlpools-green-eco-system-kitchen-debuts-in-milan/" target="_blank">high efficiency</a>, thus further reducing residents' energy use as compared to conventional family homes.

The center piece of the kitchen is the eye-catching worktop and integrated hob. The piece is elegantly lit with integrated LED lighting.

The utility room contains the washing machine, dishwasher and the grey-water recycling system. The water from these appliances, the shower and the ceramic cavity walls all filter through the top two parts of the system, resulting in usable water in the third container. The battery charged by the rooftop photovoltaic system is also located here.

As an additional feature, on leaving the building we were shown the EV charging point. Running off the PV array on the rooftop, the charging point is adequate to fully charge an electric vehicle. In this case, a rather cute and economical<a href="http://inhabitat.com/renaults-twizy-to-be-cheapest-electric-vehicle-on-the-market/" target="_blank">Renault Twizy</a>.