CCA News
Living Green Does Not Mean Compromise
Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009, by Brenda Tucker
Team California, the only competitor in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2009 Solar Decathlon hailing from the West Coast, is out to prove that aesthetics and engineering can work together to create an amazing living space. Combining the latest developments in green technology with their own high-end craft and artisanal skills, and taking into account California’s incredible climate, the students are designing and building an 800-square-foot home that they hope will bring home first prize. All of the competing teams’ houses will be on display October 8–18 on the National Mall in Washington DC.
With global warming all over the news these days, most people already understand the importance of sustainability and green technologies. But Team California, situated in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley region, a crucial hub of high-tech activity and environmental consciousness, is uniquely poised to take green living to a whole new level. The team is composed of college students at Santa Clara University (SCU) and California College of the Arts (CCA). Their motto: “Green living isn’t a compromise. It’s the new standard.”
“We’re building a home that’s completely powered by solar energy that doesn’t compromise the planet, lifestyle, comfort, or aesthetics,” said Kadee Mardula, a participating Santa Clara University student. “And we’re all undergraduate students just 18 to 25 years old. If we can do it, anyone can do it.”
Every two years, the U.S. Department of Energy selects 20 college and university teams from around the world to design, build, and operate the most energy-efficient, attractive, and comfortable solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon focuses on the crucial global problems of energy shortages and climate change and offers real solutions, including renewable energy sources and ways to use energy more efficiently. The competition is more relevant than ever this year, since it underlines and supports the vision of energy independence outlined by President Barack Obama. The participating teams are demonstrating that by tapping solar energy’s potential, we can all live more sustainable, yet still comfortable, lives.
Team California is currently hard at work on the construction phase, which is taking place on the Santa Clara University campus. Right now the students are using every minute of down time away from homework and final exams to build their house. When summer break begins, they will immerse themselves even more deeply in the project. Once construction is finished, they will disassemble the house, truck it across the country to Washington DC, and reassemble it on the National Mall. It will be open for judging and public viewing October 8-18.
Santa Clara University's collaboration with CCA addresses the problem Santa Clara faced in the 2007 competition. It was the smallest university and the only one without an architecture school. It surprised the world when it won third place, beating out top contenders such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, and two-time winner the University of Colorado at Boulder. It earned top marks for its advanced engineering but lower scores in the design categories, which led to the invitation for CCA to be its partner in 2009.
CCA is a nationally renowned art and design school with programs in several areas relevant to the competition, including architecture, graphic design, interior design, ceramics, furniture, industrial design, and fine arts. CCA students from all of these programs will help produce a wide range of products for the house, from furniture, fixtures, flatware, plates, and tile to the broader “backstory” of the house’s occupants: their clothing, their lifestyles, and even the art on their walls.
About Solar Decathlon
The Solar Decathlon is a biennial, international competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The 20 participating college and university teams compete to design, build, and operate the most energy-efficient, attractive, and comfortable solar-powered house. They are scored in 10 different categories: architecture, engineering, market viability, communications, comfort, appliances, hot water, lighting, energy balance, and transportation. Each house must produce enough electricity and hot water to perform all the functions of a home and also to power an electric car.
About California College of Arts
Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts is noted for the interdisciplinarity and breadth of its programs. It offers studies in 20 undergraduate and seven graduate majors in the areas of fine arts, architecture, design, and writing. The college offers bachelor of architecture, bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, master of architecture, master of arts, master of fine arts, and master of business administration degrees.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,758 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice.
Images available upon request. Students are available for interviews. Contact Brenda Tucker at 415.703.9548 or btucker@cca.edu.
For more information about Team California and its house, visit www.scu-cca-solar.org.