I had a great opportunity to visit the Washington Universities Solar Decathlon project in St. Louis last week. Students assembled precast components from five different precast manufacturers to give a "first look" at the project. After this summer, the home will be disassembled and brought to the Solar Decathlon that takes place in Denver October 5-15, 2017. WashU Chancellor Mark Wrighton spoke to the group about how this project led to great opportunities to allow students from architecture, engineering and other departments work together.
The house being designed by the Wash U – St. Louis team consists of a single precast concrete structure intended as a demonstration of integrated advanced building technology and a compelling alternative to traditional wood, light-frame construction.
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition made up of 10 contests that challenge student teams to design and build full-size, solar-powered houses. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends design excellence and smart energy production with innovation, market potential, and energy and water efficiency.
The PCI Foundation sponsored the program. Professor Hongxi Yin heads a team that includes faculty Pablo Moyano Fernandez, and Ryan Abendroth.