POWER HOUSE nZEC & Solar Decathlon Europe 2014, Versailles

The "Housing Europe meets Solar Decathlon 2014 Award"


To conclude the event, a Team of Jurors coordinated by Housing Europe evaluated the 20 proposed projects and awarded the “Housing Europe meets Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 Award - For a Fair Energy Transition in the EU”swiss rolex replica.

First classified - On Top, Germany


OnTop is situated in Frankfurt, Germany. Here, post-war buildings have an architecture which has resulted in many unused spaces - rooftops, terraces and other elevated areas - which can be used to address the issue of densification. The core principle of the concept was to reinterpret the roof shapes and build quality housingspaces with solar solutions on top of existing buildings.This symbiotic concept is called ‘Symbiont’. The elevated and shadowless position of the envelope is perfectly compatible with active solar technologies. The energy surplus produced will be given to the host building – the buildings on which the ‘Symbiont’ is based. The old building serves as a carrier while the new envelope on top supplies both with energy. The symbiosis acts an innovative and intelligent link to support the issues of demographic change and energy transformation.

Second classified - RhOME, Italy


Team RhOME (Rome & Home) has chosen to study the urban context of the outskirts of Rome. This is where housing, country, archeology and illegal buildings are interwoven. The project revolves around the whole metropolitan area and includes the facets of density, climate change, protection of nature and energy savings. Team RhOME seeks to re-densify and re-qualify the boundaries of the city by reinforcing urban settlements and working on a sustainable mobility solution for the whole metropolitan area. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the sense of belonging of inhabitants by establishing a strong relationship between people and nature while providing buildings with clean active energy systems.

Third classified ex aequo - RECIPROCITY, USA/France & YOUR+, Switzerland


Project Reciprocity stems from the desire to design a house with perfect balance between reciprocal elements such as privacy versus interaction, aesthetics versus performance, design versus construction and spaces versus systems. The Maison Reciprocity concept is about creating an open and adjustable environment which can evolve to fulfil the inhabitants’ needs over time. Density, flexibility and mass customization are key elements of the prototype whose main ambition is to achieve regional universality through smarter, adaptable, affordable and energy-efficient social housing solutions.


The project Your+ focused on the urban context of Lucerne in Switzerland, which reveals several dynamic residential and business areas around a strong core and old town zone. Your+ will be presented as a pavilion which aims to be implemented on a larger scale and become a solution for an entire system. There are three main areas in the house, each having a specific role – public entrance, semi-public area with a kitchen, and a private bedroom space with washing facilities. All these zones are independent volumes that can be connected thanks to a buffer zone – a transitional corridor which also entails other roles such as climate control, daylight control and social interactivity. Team Luc’s belief is that we are geared toward a future where seamless connectivity to sequential spaces and ideal access to rooms, spaces objects, services, mobility and energy will be paramount.

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Source: http://www.powerhouseeurope.eu/solar_decathlon_europe/the_2nd_power_house_nzec_symposium_2014_versailles/the_award/