Blog

We're really pleased to have been featured on Inhabitat.com, a website dedicated to innovation in design and architecture. They gave us a really glowing review of the project, and helped spread the word. They also managed to take some good looking pictures.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/22/solar-decathlon-university-of-texas-...

Engineering: 2nd Place
Hot Water: 1st Place
Comfort Zone: 3rd Place
Communications: 4th Place
10th Overall

We're exhausted from the competition, but we'll be posting a full write up soon!

While at the Decathlon we spent a lot of time doing interviews and tours to educate the public. Blue Egg produced the product directory for the competition and has video tours of all the houses available online

Videos of our house

Check out these shots taken by Matt Weaver's visiting friend...magazine worthy, no?!

Only six Gladiators are allowed to work on the house at a time, and we are at capacity this evening, preparing for the Lighting Competition jury that might show up at any time. This dispatch comes from exile out on the gravel pathway.

Team 2 (the gladiators) arrived on Saturday, the second day of public tours. We jumped right in to relieve Team 1 who had been working very hard to get everything up and running (Thank you guys!).

Over the weekend we had very many visitors and long waiting lines - plus all of the responses were very positive. People especially liked the openness of our interior and a lot of people ask if our house is bigger than the rest! (It is not, it just feels a lot roomier.)

The University of Texas team completed all required Building Inspections ahead of any other team (3:06pm Wednesday). Richard King, the director of the Solar Decathlon program for the DOE, awarded the team several prizes for finishing first. This accomplishment is a testament to the logistical planning and overall design of the house for rapid deployment

It seems like a small thing, but the back slider on the BloomHouse is one thing that always looked great on our drawings, serves an essential function, but was never built. It has been overlooked and put off long enough, but today, it is up and looking good. We only have a few more unchecked items on our inspection sheet, and our house is looking better and better. Our planters have been fully soiled, planted, and trimmed. Our solar radiant heating sub floor has been pressure tested and all leaks resolved.

Sunday was a little bit of a quieter day on the mall, but no less busy. We had another even going on at the other end of the mall, so we had to follow noise and vehicular restrictions on our work. While this is easily viewed as an annoance by the teams frantically trying to finish their houses by the deadline, I think it is evidence of something larger. Without a doubt we have to follow many restrictions here on the mall. Noise, Safety, in and out times, all of these things are evidence of the weight and importance of the endeavor we are involved in. I can't imaging the trouble the Dept.

The local affiliate has been shooting footage for KVUE in Austin, tracking the progress of UT and A&M teams competing here at the Decathlon.

The footage is from the first day we arrived, and they have confused a few facts, but here is the video footage and story:
http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/100307kvuesolarchallenge-cb.1356dcb...