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Photo of a group of people in a small bedroom. Two onlookers take notes as two student decathletes speak to them.

The Solar Decathlon 2009 Architecture Jury inspects the Team Missouri house as two decathletes explain their team's approach.

Solar Decathlon 2009

Architecture

(100 points)

Teams were required to design and build attractive, high-performance houses that integrated solar and energy-efficiency technologies seamlessly. A jury of professional architects evaluated team construction documents and the final constructed houses. It evaluated three main factors: architectural elements, holistic design, and inspiration. These elements were defined as:

  • Architectural elements—The house's strength and suitability, the appropriateness of building materials, the scale and proportion of room and facade features, indoor/outdoor connections, composition, and connection of various home elements

  • Holistic design—Ease of entry into the house and circulation among the public and private zones; architectural strategy used to accommodate the technologies required to run the house; and generosity and sufficiency of space in the house

  • Inspiration—Design surprises, such as unusual use of ordinary materials or use of extraordinary materials, to delight Solar Decathlon visitors.