Solar Decathlon
The Solar Decathlon is one of my favoritest things ever. Possibly I am a geek.
Rice is fielding a team this year. Sadly, it looks like a shipping container. On the plus side, it's ugly because they built it for $80K, which is a fraction (1/3 to 1/8, to be precise) of the cost of any of the other houses. Team Louisiana's similarly serious-minded house cost over $250K and is already slated for production.
But in this contest I veer toward grandiosity. Cornell, which won my heart in 2005, has fielded another gorgeous house, this time with graywater filtration and shapeshifting furniture. Team Alberta is sheer modernist beauty. Arizona's water wall (just drain and ship, with triple the insulating power of concrete) looks stunning amidst seductive ship-like curves.
Presentation tours are here. Looking at the finished products, it's hard to believe that students built actual houses, disassembled them, and then reassembled them on the National Mall in 6 or 7 days. (Kids these days are so cool.) This weekend is the last chance to see the houses, so get to the Mall if you can.
Rice is fielding a team this year. Sadly, it looks like a shipping container. On the plus side, it's ugly because they built it for $80K, which is a fraction (1/3 to 1/8, to be precise) of the cost of any of the other houses. Team Louisiana's similarly serious-minded house cost over $250K and is already slated for production.
But in this contest I veer toward grandiosity. Cornell, which won my heart in 2005, has fielded another gorgeous house, this time with graywater filtration and shapeshifting furniture. Team Alberta is sheer modernist beauty. Arizona's water wall (just drain and ship, with triple the insulating power of concrete) looks stunning amidst seductive ship-like curves.
Presentation tours are here. Looking at the finished products, it's hard to believe that students built actual houses, disassembled them, and then reassembled them on the National Mall in 6 or 7 days. (Kids these days are so cool.) This weekend is the last chance to see the houses, so get to the Mall if you can.