Students from the University of Oregon and Miami University take this year's Solar Decathlon grand prize

Initiated in 2002, the Solar Decathlon invites students across the U.S. and internationally to participate in a design competition focusing on energy efficiency. For the first time, the design challenge jury has selected two Grand Winners from the residential and commercial building divisions. 

 Out of 45 student-led teams representing 31 collegiate institutions, this year's grand winners hail from the University of Oregon and Miami University. Winners were chosen for their ability to create designs that exude "excellence in innovation, market potential, building efficiency, and smart energy production." 

 According to the Solar Decathlon organization, the competition aims to "leverages opportunities to showcase student innovation and STEM education, and it fosters workforce development opportunities." A virtual event took place to congratulate and celebrate winning teams.  View this year's winning projects below and their project descriptions.

Grand Winner: University of Oregon - Commercial Division
Project: Little Dipper Elementary

Project Overview: The seemingly incomprehensible issues humanity faces, such as climate change, must be taught to children as they become the next stewards of the environment. Little Dipper Elementary is an interactive climate exploratorium. These complex challenges are symbolized and broken down into kid-sized interactive exercises, through the school’s design. As architecture and form take a back seat, climate systems and interactive objects become the drivers of students’ education. This relationship of focused learning moments exists at all scales throughout the school. 

Grand Winner: Miami University - Residential Division
Project: Peace Village

Project Details: The Peace Village is a net-zero-energy, affordable housing development that will be located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, adjacent to the Rothenberg Preparatory Academy. The primary focus of this project will be sustainability, both in terms of the green building design and the holistic individual experience of living in this development. Since the attached housing units will share the Main & Schiller site with Miami University’s Mixed-Use Multifamily team, the two projects will be interconnected spatially as well as environmentally. We envision this collective space as a place for the community to gather together and learn from each other how to live a more sustainable life. This project seeks to enhance the community dynamic and lifestyle in a manner that minimally disturbs existing site conditions, while working with local neighborhood residents and community leaders to ensure that the changes being implemented are both appropriate and attainable. 

Suburban Single-Family Division

• First-place, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)
• Second-place, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica (Quito, Ecuador)
• Honorable Mention, The Pennsylvania State University (Centre County, Pennsylvania)

Urban Single-Family Division

• First-place, The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, British Columbia)
• Second-place, University of California Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
• Honorable Mention, Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana)

Attached Housing Division

• First-place, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
• Second-place, Southeast University (Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China)
• Honorable Mention, Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Mixed-Use Multifamily Division

• First-place, The University of Arizona (Tucson, Arizona)
• Second-place, Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Honorable Mention, Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, Illinois)
• Honorable Mention, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (Syracuse, New York) and Syracuse University (Syracuse, New York)

Elementary School Division

• First-place, University of Oregon (Eugene, Oregon)
• Second-place, Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• Honorable Mention, The University of Arizona (Tucson, Arizona)

Office Building Division

• First-place, Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, Illinois)
• Second-place, Ryerson University (Toronto, Ontario)
• Honorable Mention, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia)

To learn more about the decathlon and the winning projects click here.