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Photo of Team Montreal's Solar Decathlon 2007 house in front of the Biosphere Environmental Museum. Enlarge image

Lumen Essence, now called Ecoological House, is at home on the grounds of Environment Canada's Biosphère Musée de L'environnement.
(Courtesy of La Biosphère d'Environnement Canada)

Who: Team Montréal
What: Lumen Essence, renamed Ecoological House
Where:
Biosphère Musée de L'environnement 160 Chemin Tour de l'Isle Île Sainte-Hélène Montréal H3C 4G8 Canada
Map This House

Public tours: The house is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Mondays, from November 2010 through May 2011. For more information, call 514-283-5000.

Solar Decathlon 2007

Team Montréal: Keeping Good Company

Team Montréal rebuilt Lumen Essence at Environment Canada's Biosphère Musée de L'environnement after finishing eighth overall in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2007. Lumen Essence was renamed Ecoological House and officially reopened to the public on June 23, 2008.

Guided tours currently teach Biosphère museum visitors about energy-efficient design and advanced technologies accessible to homeowners. The house will continue serving as an educational exhibit through 2013.

The house was originally created by three Canadian universities—école de Technologie Supérieure, Université de Montréal, and McGill University. It featured custom walls, soy insulation, low-e windows, photovoltaic panels, and a green roof atop a steel-frame base.

The house's permanent location at Parc Jean Drapeau on Sainte-Hélène Island suits it perfectly. Not only does Biosphère educate the public about environmental conservation, but it is also an architectural icon in its own right. The steel-framed structure surrounding the museum was originally commissioned by the U.S. Information Agency and built by Richard Buckminster Fuller for the 1967 World's Fair.