Skip to main content
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • YouTube
  • Newsletter
  • Google+

Solar Decathlon Blog - Design Challenge

Below you will find Solar Decathlon news from the Design Challenge archive, sorted by date.

40 Collegiate Teams Advance to Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Forty teams from 37 collegiate institutions are advancing to the final stage of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon® 2024 Design Challenge based on their cutting-edge, zero energy building designs.

(more…)

3 Days Remain! Nominate for the Solar Decathlon Alumni-Faculty Awards by Feb. 1

Monday, January 29, 2024

A photo of Holly Carr shaking hands with the 2023 Outstanding Faculty Advisor award winner: Edoarda Corradi Dell'Acqua
3 Days Remain! Nominate for the Solar Decathlon Alumni/Faculty Awards by Feb. 1

Only 3 days remain to nominate an outstanding U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® alumni or faculty lead for the Solar Decathlon Awards!

(more…)

One Week Left to Register for the Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge!

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

One Week Left to Register for the Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge!

Students and faculty from the 2023 Design Challenge Howard University team pose with their trophy. (Photo by Vern Slocum, NREL)

Students and faculty from the 2023 Design Challenge Howard University team pose with their trophy. (Photo by Vern Slocum, NREL)

Only one week is left to register for the 2024 Design Challenge with the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon®! 

The Design Challenge is an annual collegiate competition challenging interdisciplinary teams to create zero energy building designs that address real-world issues such as climate resilienceembodied carbonexisting building retrofits, and community impact.  

(more…)

Students/Mentors/Jurors—Join the Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge by October 18!

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Join the 2024 Design Challenge by October 18, 2023, to compete in, mentor, or judge the international zero energy building design competition.

Students from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, present their high-performance building design at NREL

Students from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, present their high-performance building design at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, during the Solar Decathlon 2023 Competition Event.

Less than four weeks remain to be a part of the 2024 Design Challenge with the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon®!

(more…)

Calling the Next Sustainable Building Professionals—Register for the Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Are you a student or professor interested in transforming buildings to tackle the climate crisis?

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is seeking collegiate student participants from diverse majors to join the next round of the zero energy building design competition. Students from collegiate institutions in the United States and around the world are encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams and register!

(more…)

One Month Left! Join the Solar Decathlon to Solve the Climate Crisis One Zero Energy Building at a Time

Monday, September 26, 2022

Solar Decsthlon participants presenting to the jury.

One month remains for collegiate teams to register for the next U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® cycle! Change the status quo of the built environment by imagining a zero-energy building of the future as part of the hands-on 2023 Design Challenge.

Register your team today! Registration closes on October 26 at 5 p.m. ET.

(more…)

Register for the Solar Decathlon Kickoff Webinar!

Monday, August 15, 2022

2022 Design Challenge students presenting at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Join us for the Solar Decathlon Kickoff Webinar!

Know what it takes to create a winning team for the Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge? Have questions before your collegiate team starts designing a zero energy building?

(more…)

Fifty-Five Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Teams Advance as Finalists

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Fifty-five teams representing 38 universities are advancing as finalists in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2022 Design Challenge.

Finalist teams were chosen based on presentations and design submissions at the semifinal competition event, held virtually February 25–26, 2022. During this event, teams pitched their unique building designs, impressing industry expert jurors with their creativity and ability to tackle the most difficult issues in the built environment.

(more…)

Nupoor Kansara is #SDLivingtheDream:
Fueling a passion for sustainable design

Monday, August 16, 2021

Name: Nupoor Kansara

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2020

University team: Illinois Institute of Technology

Current organization / employer: Baumann Consulting

Current role: Energy and commissioning engineer (more…)

Rally Your Classmates and Apply to Compete in Solar Decathlon; October Deadline for Design and Build Challenges

Friday, July 16, 2021

Passionate about sustainable buildings? Ready to test the skills you’ve learned in the classroom on a real-life project? The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is ready for your innovative ideas and creativity! Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that prepares the next generation of building professionals to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewables.

The Solar Decathlon Competition Guide, 2022 Design Challenge Rules, and 2023 Build Challenge Rules are now available to the public. All collegiate institutions are encouraged to apply to participate in the next edition of Solar Decathlon by October 26, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Team Applications can be submitted for both the Design Challenge and the Build Challenge.

Read more

Louisy Spak is #SDLivingtheDream:
Putting her Design Challenge experience to use in Brazil

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

She learned a lot in the 2017 Design Challenge, and now she helps design condos in Brazil. Hear more about Louisy Spak’s experience in our continuing series.

…………………  

Name: Louisy Spak

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2017 Design Challenge (formerly Race to Zero)

University team: Sobrado Solar – Universidade Federal do Paraná

Current organization / employer: Multipla Arquitetura, Nova Arquitetura

Current role: Architect, owner and BIM specialist

(more…)

Zach Berzolla is #SDLivingtheDream:
Using a Multidisciplinary Approach for Effective Building Design

Monday, December 14, 2020

For this edition of #SDLivingtheDream we learn about Zach Berzolla, a 2018 Middlebury College team alumnus. He shares with us the work he is doing at MIT, along with key concepts that he has learned for successful building design, from Solar Decathlon. How about that for a doer designer!

…………………  

Name: Zach Berzolla

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2018 Design Challenge

University team: Middlebury College

 Current organization / employer: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sustainable Design Lab

Current role: Research Assistant/ SMBT Student

How did participation in the Solar Decathlon affect the trajectory of your career?

I knew I was interested in zero energy buildings, but the Solar Decathlon cemented for me that I wanted to make this field my career. Furthermore,  as I started working with the multidisciplinary team I assembled for the Race to Zero, I realized the importance of an integrated design process. This was one of the reasons I ended up at the MIT Sustainable Design Lab for my master’s; the lab is multi-disciplinary and focused on tools and analyses that architects, engineers, and policy-makers can all understand.

 Describe a work outcome, building project or other achievement you are most proud of and how (if) it relates to your experience with Solar Decathlon.

At MIT, I have been working with other members of my lab to make urban building energy modeling tools accessible to every city so that they can make physics-backed decisions on how to meet their emissions reduction goals. Through Solar Decathlon trainings and collaborations, I learned the applied building physics that underlie every building upgrade strategy we propose to meet these emissions reduction goals.

Zach at VERMOD Homes, a project that he sought out, which was inspired by his Solar Decathlon work. He documented improvements to the factory process for their zero-energy manufactured homes.

Brett Horin is #SDLivingtheDream:
Seeing the Impacts in the Real World

Monday, November 16, 2020

This month in our #SDLivingtheDream series, you’ll meet Brett Horin, who competed with Illinois Tech in the 2018 Design Challenge and who has gone on to work in energy modeling in the architecture industry, fueled by his experience in the Solar Decathlon.

…………………  

Name: Brett Horin

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2018

University team: Illinois Institute of Technology

Current organization / employer: Lamar Johnson Collaborative/Clayco

Current role: Energy Modeler

(more…)

Sol Haroon is #SDLivingtheDream:
Leading the Future Through Building-Design Efficiency and Renewable Energy Education!

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Sol completed his BASc (Applied Science) at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and his MS at the Georgia Institute of Technology; he is currently pursuing (part-time) his MBA at the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.

In the latest edition of our #SDLivingtheDream series, we introduce Sol Haroon. An alumnus of the 2018 Design Challenge, Sol pushes boundaries in the renewable energy and building design projects he leads, or contributes to as an engineer. Read on to find out more about Sol’s role in creating the largest Living Building in the Southeast!

…………………   

Name: Sol Haroon

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2018 Design Challenge

University team: Georgia Institute of Technology

Current organization / employer: United Renewables, also pursuing an MBA at Georgia Institute of Technology

Current role: Lead Engineer/Consulting Instructor

(more…)

Sean Copeland is #SDLivingtheDream:
Revolutionizing Energy-Efficient Commercial Building Through Design!

Monday, August 17, 2020

Meet 2017-2018 Design Challenge alumnus Sean Copeland. From Penn State to Solar Decathlon, this two-time SD veteran has always worked with a passion for building design and environmental preservation. With his current position at Arup, he is able to intersect the two through working on carbon-free building construction in Massachusetts. Learn more about how Sean puts his skills to the test toward the green-building industry.

…………………  

Name: Sean Copeland

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2017 and 2018

University team: Penn State University (2017 — Full Circle, 2018 — Ripple)

Current organization / employer: Arup

Current role: Graduate Sustainability Consultant

(more…)

Archives

Categories

Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)