Swedish Students Design Passive Home Powered by the Sun

HALO is a social and environmentally conscious home built for students by <a title="Swedish Students Design Passive Home Powered by the Sun" href="http://inhabitat.com/all-i-own-swedish-students-photographed-with-all-their-possessions-show-how-to-live-with-less/" target="_blank">students</a>. Designed by 25 scholars from <a title="Swedish Students Design Passive Home Powered by the Sun" href="http://www.chalmers.se/en/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Chalmers University of Technology</a> in Sweden, this curvy passive dwelling is powered by the sun. With big common areas and smaller private spaces, the design is based on the notion that a shared house should have double the amount of communal space than usual.

Measuring 645 sq foot, HALO takes its name and shape from the rainbow-like optical phenomenon around the sun.

It was designed with small private rooms and large entertaining areas to take people away from the growing trend of social isolation.

The interiors are made from local wood, following Scandinavian tradition, and some furniture can be moved around to create more space.

Its curvy roof is made from monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cells on acrylic covered with a high strength polymer.

This was mounted on a thin waterproof polycarbonate membrane and shaped into a canopy with indoor and outdoor spaces.

HALO won third place at China’s Solar Decathlon 2013 thanks to its outstanding technology and efficient use of resources.