Team Rhône-Alpes’ Modular Canopea House Wins the Architecture and Operations Competitions of the Solar Decathlon Europe!

The minute we entered <a href="http://www.solardecathlon.fr/?lang=en">Team Rhône-Alpes' modular Canopea House</a>, we were dazzled by its beautiful crown of soft dappled light, and it turns out we were not the only ones impressed by the spectacular design. The Canopea currently holds first place in this year's competition, boasting a cumulative score of <a href="http://monitoring.sdeurope.org/?lang=es">800.32</a>, with top honors in the coveted <a href="http://www.sdeurope.org/?page_id=6627&amp;lang=en">Architecture</a> and <a href="http://monitoring.sdeurope.org/index.php?action=scoring&amp;scoring=S6">Operations</a> prizes. Topped with a 10,7 kW array of photovoltaic panels that produce more than enough energy for both floors, this inviting green space also offers natural ventilation, a place to relax, and even a common laundry. Once the 2012 <a href="http://inhabitat.com/solar-decathlon/">Solar Decathlon Europe</a> competition is complete, the team from France have even bigger ambitions to create whole <a href="http://inhabitat.com/canopea-is-a-solar-powered-urban-habitat-with-a-vertical-farm-by-sde-2012-team-rhone-alpes/">"nanotowers" comprised of several Canopea homes</a>.

We were struck by the beautiful dappled light created by the Canopea's integrated photovoltaic array

The louvered facade provides natural light and ventilation

The house charges this tiny EV

This home responds to the weather... in this case, it's a warm and sunshiny day so everything is wide open

The skin provides additional solar protection and facilitates more ventilation

This is the view from the lower floor living room

The terrace extends the interior living space

Amazing space management ensures the house, albeit small, is nice and spacious

Nap time anyone?

The layout is clean and fresh and notice how well-lit the house is.

There's plenty of storage space here

It felt like a jungle upstairs!

The hammock chairs emphasize that this space is meant for relaxing.

Notice the integrates solar panels? Not only do they provide energy for both levels (more than required) but it also creates shadow play

Notice how spacious this is.

The louvered facade can be adjusted depending on the solar/wind conditions on any given day

All of the mechanical equipment is organized at the back of the house

The canopy is reached by a metal staircase

The team huddles upstairs

A close-up shot of the EV being charged by the house