ShelterR3 is the entry by the Crowder-Drury Decathlon team.
The Crowder-Drury Solar Decathlon team has been on the ground in Irvine, California for more than 13 days now, assembling, furnishing and preparing the ShelteR3 (pronounced Shelter Cubed) home for a series of 10 contests as part of the international competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Included is the home life contest in which they had to host a dinner party for other teams. Other measured contests deal with commuting, appliances, comfort zone and energy balance. Juried contests include architecture, market appeal, engineering, communications and affordability.
The ShelteR3 house has a three-part design philosophy of Respond, Recover and Resist. Inspired by the devastating and deadly 2011 Joplin tornado, the house is transportable so that it can be trucked to disaster areas during emergency response and recovery efforts. It can then be converted into a permanent and stylish living structure that is designed to resist the extreme winds and debris clouds of potential tornadoes.
The team has announced that its unofficial onsite mascot is a Malibu Ken doll, and it is helping them "hang loose" in an otherwide high pressure environment. They ran into probems when the plants that were ordered for the home were "a bit underwhelming." However, The crisis was quickly averted after they raised an additional $500 in 24-hours for the purchase of plants creating top-notch curb appeal. Thats just the latest fundraising success for a team that has raised more than $458,000 for the project overall through in-kind and cash donations.
Right now the Crowder-Drury team is in first place in the social media engagement portion of the contest. Local residents may continue to support them by share, comment and link the content on Facebook here and on Twitter here. Use these hash tags: #CrowderDrurySol, #ShelteR3, #SolarDecathlon. Engagement yields more points than mere likes or re-tweets, so ask the team questions or offer words of encouragement online.
Instead of going to a reception event recently, several Crowder-Drury students helped the team from New York City College of Technology finish its house. Its moments like this that show the character of our students and remind us that this is about much more than a competition, said Traci Sooter, Drury professor of architecture.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Decathlon pits future architects, engineers, marketers and business people from the nations top colleges against one another, challenging them to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive. The winner of the competition will be the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.
For more photos go here.
Comments