Solar Decathlon Madrid

This June Madrid was the site for the European edition of the Solar Decathlon, a competition between teams from 17 universities to design and build the best-performing solar house (consuming only solar energy). The houses were erected in a new park on the banks of the Manzanares River. The event was sponsored by the Polytechnic University of Madrid with the support of Spain's Ministry of Housing and the US Department of Energy (previous editions have been held in the United States).
Projects were judged in 10 different categories. The top prize for overall performance went to the Lumenhaus, designed by students of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Second and third prizes went to the Universities of Applied Science of Rosenheim and Stuttgart, respectively.
The 17 houses were open to the public for 10 days during judging and received 190,000 visitors. For more information in English, visit the Decathlon website.

Full list of participants:

Spain

• Universidad CEU Cardinal Herrera, Valencia. Industrialization and Market Viability Award
• Instituto de Arquitectura Avanzada de Cataluña
• Universidad de Sevilla
• Universidad de Valladolid
• Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña. Architecture and Architectural Innovation Award (1 of 3)
  

Germany

• University of Applied Sciences Rosenheim. Second Prize, Electrical Energy Balance Award, Appliances and Functioning Award, Comfort Conditions Award
• University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart. Third Prize, Innovation Award
• Bergische Universität Wuppertal
• Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft, Berlin. Solar Systems Award
  

France

• Arts et Métiers Paris Tech. Sustainability Award
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Architecture, Grenoble
  

United States

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. First Prize, Architecture and Architectural Innovation Award (1 of 3)
• University of Florida. Communication and Social Awareness Award
  

China

• Tianjin University
• Tongji University
  

Great Britain

• University of Nottingham

Finland

• Aalto University. Architecture and Architectural Innovation Award (1 of 3)