Student teams from The University of Minnesota Twin Cities, The Cooper Union, and Ball State among winners of the 2023 Solar Decathlon Design and Build Challenge

Winners of the 2023  Solar Decathlon Design Challenge and Build Challenge, organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, feature a series of student projects that address renewable energy building methods.

After celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, the Solar Decathlon has hosted over 25,000 students with the aim to foster "the next generation of building professionals to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewables" For this year's competition, there are 11 finalist teams recognized in the Build Challenge and 55 finalist teams recognized in the Design Challenge.

Winning projects for the Build Challenge were selected across ten categories (Architecture, Engineering, Market Analysis, Durability and Resilience, Embodied Environmental Impact, Integrated Peformance, Occupant Experience, Comfort and Environmental Quality, Energy Performance, and Presentation) while the Design Challenge winners were awarded across six building categories (New Housing, Retrofit Housing, Attached Housing, Multifamily Building, Office Building, and Education Building). 

More information about each competition's winners can be viewed below.

[SOLAR DECATHLON DESIGN CHALLENGE GRAND WINNERS]

Residential Grand Winner - University of Minnesota Twin Cities (project details)

Project details: "The team created a deep-energy retrofit for a three-story housing structure that aims to preserve the building’s historical character while meeting the local need for affordable, durable, and resilient housing."

Commercial Grand Winner - The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (project details)

Project details: "The team created an educational building design for the renovation and extension of the New York Harbor School that promotes zero energy retrofit principles and workforce development opportunities for the community." 

[2023 DESIGN CHALLENGE DIVISION WINNERS]

New Housing Division

• 1st Place - University of Florida
• 2nd Place - Monash University
• 3rd Place - Concordia University

Retrofit Housing Division

• 1st Place - Appalachian State University
• 2nd Place - Marywood University
• 3rd Place - Howard University

Attached Housing Division

• 1st Place - University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• 2nd Place - The University of British Columbia Okanagan—Kelowna/ Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops
• 3rd Place - The University of Arizona

Multifamily Building Division

• 1st Place - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 2nd Place - University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• 3rd Place - Illinois Institute of Technology

Office Building Division

• 1st Place - Wentworth Institute of Technology
• 2nd Place - University of Cincinnati
• 3rd Place - Ball State University

Education Building Division

• 1st Place - The Cooper Union
• 2nd Place - Ball State University
• 3rd Place - Northwestern University

Learn more about each Design Challenge project here.

[SOLAR DECATHLON BUILD CHALLENGE WINNERS]

• Overall Winner - 1st Place - Ball State University
• Overall Winner - 2nd Place - Indian Insitute of Technology Bombay
• Overall Winner - 3rd Place - The University of British Columbia

2023 BUILD CHALLENGE CONTEST WINNERS

Architecture

• 1st Place - The University of British Columbia
• 2nd Place - Ball State University
• 3rd Place - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 

Engineering

• 1st Place - University of Waterloo
• 2nd Place - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
• 3rd Place -University of Colorado Boulder

Market Analysis

• 1st Place - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• 2nd Place - Ball State University
• 3rd Place - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Durability and Resilience

• 1st Place - University of Colorado Boulder
• 2nd Place - The University of British Columbia
• 3rd Place - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Embodied Environmental Impact

• 1st Place - The University of British Columbia
• 2nd Place - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
• 3rd Place - University of Wyoming

Integrated Performance

• 1st Place - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
• 2nd Place - Ball State University
• 3rd Place - The University of British Columbia

Occupant Experience

• 1st Place (4-way tie) - Ball State University, The University of British Columbia, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and India, University of Wyoming

Comfort and Environmental Quality

• 1st Place - University of Wyoming
• 2nd Place - The University of Kansas
• 3rd Place -The University of British Columbia

Energy Performance

• 1st Place (3-way tie) - Ball State University, The University of Kansas, University of Wyoming

Presentation

• 1st Place - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• 2nd Place - Ball State University
• 3rd Place - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Learn more about the Solar Decathlon Challenges here.