A team effort to rethink the way we live
© Solar Decathlon 2014
EPFL, EIA Fribourg, and UniFR are creating a team for the Solar Decathlon Challenge. The goal: to design and build an advanced solar powered house that solves urban issues in Switzerland, Europe, and beyond.
How can science, technology and architecture come together to create a solar powered home that you would want to live in? This summer, 20 university teams from 15 countries presented their answers to this question at the 2014 Solar Decathlon Pavilion in Versailles, France. Now, three universities from Western Switzerland – EPFL, the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg (EIA-FR), and the University of Fribourg (UniFR) – are putting together a team to participate in the next event, to be held in 2016.
Like any decathlon, the Solar Decathlon is a contest in ten disciplines. But unlike its athletic variant, the Solar Decathlon hones the minds of students in architecture, engineering, sciences, and design, asking them to design a full-scale, fully functional, comfortable, and sustainable urban dwelling, powered entirely by the sun. But it’s about more than just solar power. The teams will also be evaluated in ten areas including architecture, energy efficiency, sustainability, urban design, and public outreach.
The smart living lab – an interdisciplinary platform for research on homes of the future – is behind the joint bid for the Solar Decathlon Challenge, which brings together EPFL, EIA-FR, and UniFR. The smart living lab facilities, located at the former Cardinal brewery in Fribourg, will host the design, construction, and testing of the prototype.
Efforts already well underway
During a three-week workshop held in July, students from EPFL and EIA-FR got together to lay the foundations for their prototype – in their minds and on paper. The workshop took them to Versailles, where they analyzed this year’s entries. Back in Lausanne, they worked in groups to design and refine five concepts, one of which could evolve into EPFL’s bid. “The Solar Decathlon Challenge is a unique opportunity for students from different disciplines to learn to work together in a team,” says Jamie Russell, project manager at EPFL. “In the European edition of the contest has been challenging the concept of the single family detached dwellings, with an emphasis on urban considerations such as density, mixed-use buildings, mobility and changing demographics.”
Innovation open to all
Solar Decathlon also needs your ideas! Using EPFL’s ideation platform, Fusebox, everybody at EPFL, EIA-FR, UniFR, and the broader public will have a chance to contribute their ideas for the sustainable house of the future. The Fusebox challenge will be launched September 21, and last for three weeks and culminate in an award ceremony in the end of October, where the top three ideas will be rewarded. There will also be plenty of giveaways for great work, great ideas and helpful comments!