When the dust settled on the 2011 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C., the University of Maryland’s WaterShed house was declared the overall winner of the biennial competition.
The Department of Energy–sponsored decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. This year, organizers also added an affordability category to the mix.
Inspired by the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, the WaterShed house proposes solutions to water and energy shortages. “The concept of water led the design process,” says fourth-year architecture student Parlin Meyer. “Not only conservation but water use.”
The school says the butterfly roofed house is a model of how the built environment can help preserve watersheds by managing stormwater, filtering pollutants from graywater, and minimizing water use.
Maryland won the competition with a total of 951.151 points (out of a possible 1,000), consistently scoring high marks for all categories, including a win in the architecture section. Architect Michelle Kaufmann, a juror in the architecture contest, said the home “achieves an elegant mix of inspiration, function, and simplicity.”
While Maryland took home the overall prize, Appalachian State University won the People’s Choice Award for its Solar Homestead, a net-zero energy confection inspired by early traditional Appalachian settlements. The home consists of six outbuildings connected by the Great Porch — an outdoor living space protected by an 8.2-kilowatt trellis of bifacial solar cells.
—Nigel F. Maynard. Adapted with permission from residential architect, a sister publication of REMODELING.
Click here to read the original article and see a slide show of 2011 Solar Decathlon houses.
