Summary: Students from the Technische Universität Darmstadt leaped to an early lead in the U. S. Department of Energy’s third Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., when they handily captured first place in the Architecture contest on October 15. The architecture contest, which judges how well each of the 20 competing teams met requirements to “design and build attractive, high-performance houses that integrate solar and energy-efficient technologies seamlessly into the design,” is the contest worth the most points in the 10-contest competition.

The University of Maryland was awarded second place in the Architecture contest; the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid won third place.

Gregory Kiss, AIA, who with Susan Maxman, FAIA, and Grant Simpson, FAIA, juried the architecture competition, said that the jury felt unanimously that the Darmstadt team’s project was “in a class by itself.” He had high praise for all the projects, however, saying that the students went far beyond the requirements for beauty, innovation, and efficiency in their versatile competition entries. Citing the 2030 Challenge, developed by Ed Mazria, FAIA, and adapted by the AIA as the norm for architecture design in the coming decades, Kiss said that “the students present an incredible challenge to all of us” in going beyond this standard.

In particular, Kiss said, the jury was impressed by the individual entries’ ability to:

• Integrate beauty and innovation into a harmonious whole
• Reflect a sense of place for each school’s point of origin
• Be flexible models that are adaptable to other uses
• Create moments of poetry and delight.

Kiss also complimented the projects on their excellence of communication and documentation.

Richard King, director of the Solar Decathlon for the U. S. Department of Energy, told the group that Sunday, October 14, saw “record-breaking crowds visit all of the houses,” which he characterized as “celebrating all the beauty and splendor of good architecture.”

“Made in Germany”
With a slogan of “Made in Germany,” the Darmstadt project highlights German building technologies, construction, and materials. Its clean design and detailing and beautiful proportions bear this banner proudly. The student team worked closely with its manufacturing sponsors, in some case serving internships with the sponsoring companies to learn about and study the performance of some of the systems used in the house. The elegant house incorporates the gamut of energy-saving systems and techniques, from low-tech passive systems to phase-change heat storage material in the ceilings and walls to motorized louvers. The louvers on the east, south, and west walls have pv cells built right into them, allowing them to generate power while they provide shading. Their sun-tracking system ensures they continually will have just the right tilt for optimum solar gain.

This is the first year a German school is competing in the Solar Decathlon. Upon receiving their award for the Architecture Contest, the students from Darmstadt, obviously and rightfully proud of their prize, took a moment to thank all the other teams in the Solar Village this week for coming by to visit and make them feel welcome.