Solar Decathlon 2011 Teams Travel to Orlando
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Representatives of the teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 will travel to Orlando, Florida, in January 2011 for the International Builders’ Show (IBS). Sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, the IBS is the largest annual construction conference in the world.
The decathletes will debut new scale models of their Solar Decathlon houses in the Orange County Convention Center’s west exhibit hall from Wednesday, Jan. 12, through Saturday, Jan. 15. Conference attendees will also see the teams’ computer-animated walkthroughs, which bring the interior floor plans of the solar-powered houses to life for the first time.
For those who want to learn more about the creative process behind the houses, Solar Decathlon Director Richard King will moderate an educational session titled “The New Class of Affordable Solar Housing” on Wednesday, Jan. 12, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Five of the teams will present their strategies for reducing overall project costs without sacrificing modern amenities. The teams selected to present at this session are:
- Florida International University
- Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology
- Purdue University
- Victoria University of Wellington
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Also of interest at the IBS is the Excellence in Building Science Education for Housing Workshop. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this workshop will introduce the new Excellence in Building Science Education program, which aims to educate future design and construction professionals. The workshop will be held Jan. 13 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Stay tuned for updates as the excitement unfolds in Orlando. After all, this is the last time that the teams will be together before the competition begins next fall!
Tags: Events, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011, Teams