Major international competitions in (USA)

Most of competitions (for professionals and students) in US are organized by The American Institute for Architects (AIA) and other related professional US organizations; because the AIA represents member interests of architects primarily practicing in the U.S., most competitions are limited to students from ACSA Members Schools from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico only. However there are some competitions that are open to the world participants, most of them, however, are Design Ideas competitions. Below we describe some competitions that are currently on the rise. We hope that information provided will be useful for the development of your professional skills and widening of your horizons!

 

6.3.1 Solar Decathlon 2017 Competition

(https://www.solardecathlon.gov/2017/competition.html)

In 2002 the U.S. Department of Energy established Solar Decathlon - the international student competition, which is a life-changing competition for collegiate students and an intensive course in sustainability for consumers. During this competition selected collegiate teams spend almost two years designing and building energy-efficient houses powered by the sun [5]. Thus the competition result – is the newly organized “street” filled with new-built houses of different shapes and designs, which are united by the idea of solar power! The winner of the competition is the team that best blends design excellence and smart energy production with innovation, market potential, and energy and water efficiency. The competition occurs biennially in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and now in 2017 (at the time this book is written). Since the first competition in 2002, the Solar Decathlon has expanded internationally to include four additional worldwide competitions in Europe, China, Latin America and Caribbean, and the Middle East. This year, 2017, the Solar Decathlon has been located in Denver, Colorado, adjacent to the 61st & Peña station on the University of Colorado [4].

Like the Olympic decathlon, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon consists of 10 contests. The contests evaluate cost-effective design; innovation balanced with market potential; water and energy efficiency; energy production and time-of-use energy; and communications strategies. Each Solar Decathlon contest is worth a maximum of 100 points, for a potential competition total of 1,000 points. Teams earn points through task completion, performance monitoring, and jury evaluation.

Contest 1: Architecture

For the Architecture Contest of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017, teams are required to design and build attractive, high-performance houses that integrate solar and energy efficiency technologies seamlessly into the design.

Contest 2: Market Potential

For the Market Potential Contest of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017, each team is required to design a primary residence for year-round occupancy for a specific target client of its choosing.

Contest 3: Engineering

Solar Decathlon houses are marvels of engineering. For the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017, a jury of engineers evaluate the engineering design and implementation of each team's house based on the following criteria: Approach, Design, Efficiency, Performance and Documentation.

Contest 4: Communications

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 teams must develop and implement communications strategies to engage their local communities, provide free tours to visitors during the event in Denver, and make an impact across the world through their digital presence and media outreach.

Contest 5: Innovation

New for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017, the Innovation Contest encourages teams to take a thoughtful approach to innovation, rather than being limited solely to off-the-shelf solutions.

Other contests, such as Market Potential, provide further checks and balances to ensure innovative ideas are implemented within market realities.

Contest 6: Water

Always ahead of their time, past Solar Decathlon teams have consistently integrated water use and reuse strategies into their designs, even though no points were awarded for this effort. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 is rewarding smart water solutions for the first time.

This new contest is important not only because water is a precious resource, but also because water and energy are inextricably linked—it takes water to make the energy we use, and it takes energy to treat and deliver the clean water we require.

Contest 7: Health and Comfort

Teams are challenged to build a house that minimizes the flow of cooled air in summer or heated air in winter to the outdoors, operate heating and cooling systems that keep temperature and humidity steady, all while maintaining healthy indoor air quality.

Contest 8: Appliances

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 Appliances Contest is designed to mimic the appliance use of an average U.S. home. Teams earn points for operating their refrigerator and freezer, washing and drying laundry, simulating cooking tasks and hot showers.

Contest 9: Home Life

The Home Life Contest in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 demonstrates whether or not a house is capable of being a home. Teams are required to engage in a variety of activities just like real homeowners. They share meals with friends and neighbors, watch television, use their computers, and host games nights. They even commute in an electric vehicle charged from the house's solar electric system.

Contest 10: Energy Contest

The Energy Contest of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 evaluates each team's energy production and a theoretical value to a utility of the energy they both contribute to and take from the Solar Decathlon electricity grid.

Prices: In 2017, for the first time in the event's history, teams are eligible for cash prizes! Each team that successfully builds a solar house at the competition site receives at least $100,000 for rising to the challenge, and top finishers receive significantly more. At the end of the competition, the teams are ranked according to their net score and earn prizes as follows: 1st: $300,000, 2nd: $225,000, 3rd: $150,000, 4th: $125,000, 5th plus: $100,000. Teams for participation in 2017 competition were selected in 2015. Responses for Solar Decathlon 2019 were due April 3, 2017.

Each Solar Decathlon contest is worth a maximum of 100 points, for a potential competition total of 1,000 points.

Teams can earn points three ways:

1. Task Completion
   Teams complete tasks that simulate modern living. They perform household chores such as cooking and doing laundry. They host dinner parties and game nights for fellow competitors. And, they are required to log miles driving an electric vehicle charged by the house's solar electric system.
2. Monitored Performance
   Team houses and appliances perform to specified criteria, such as maintaining indoor temperature and humidity within a tight range, ensuring refrigerators maintain appropriate temperatures, and carefully controlling the flow of electricity between the house and the utility.
3. Jury Evaluation
   Jurors who are experts in fields, such as architecture, engineering, homebuilding, water use and reuse, and communications, award points for features that cannot be measured, such as aesthetics, design inspiration and innovation.

Contests, based on task completion or monitored performance, are called measured contests; contests based on jury evaluation are call juried contests.

A jury of architects will evaluate each team's architectural design based on many criteria, which are condensed in the following list:

· Architectural concept and design approach

o Did a clear concept guide the design process?

o Is there coherence among various elements, such as architectural, structural, and mechanical?

o Does the design offer a sense of inspiration and delight?

· Architectural implementation and innovation

o Are the scale and proportion, indoor-outdoor connections, and composition effective?

o Is the design holistic and integrated? Will it be comfortable for occupants and compatible with the surrounding environment?

o Are the natural and electric lighting well integrated?

o Is quality demonstrated in material selection, detail, and implementation?

o How well does the team integrate energy efficiency and energy production systems into the design?

o How effectively does the design use a small floor plan?

· Documentation

o Do the team drawings, construction specifications, and audiovisual presentation accurately reflect the constructed house?

All in all, the Solar Decathlon competition offers students a unique opportunity for learning by bringing a project from concept to completion. The projects are to be developed by multidisciplinary teams, providing the opportunity to learn not only about technical issues but also about teamwork, communication skills, a sustainable lifestyle, and socio-economic issues in order to ensure the viability of their project. This competition is an excellent chance for your team to advance in your skills and career.

 

6.3.2 ASHRAE 2017 Student Design Project Competition

(https://www.ashrae.org/membership--conferences/student-zone/design-competition)

ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) sponsors the Student Design Project Competition to encourage students to become involved in a profession that is crucial to insuring a sustainable future for our Earth – the design of energy-efficient HVAC systems. Submission deadline: May 4, 2017, 23:30. Registration is at least 30 days before May 4^th, 2017. ASHRAE will recognize the outstanding student design projects at the 2018 ASHRAE Winter Meeting to be held in Chicago, IL, January 20-24, 2018. First Place: $2,000 plus a representative from the team will receive free transportation, two nights lodging and $100 expenses for attendance at the 2018 ASHRAE Winter Meeting to be held in Chicago where the award will be presented at the ASHRAE Plenary. A 24 x 36 poster is required for display at the ASHRAE Student Program. Second Place: A representative from the team will receive free transportation, two nights' lodging at the 2018 ASHRAE Winter Meeting to be held in Chicago where the award will be presented at the ASHRAE Student Program. A 24 x 36 poster is required for display at the ASHRAE Student Program. Third Place: A representative from the team will receive free transportation, two nights lodging at the 2018 ASHRAE Winter Meeting to be held in Chicago where the award will be presented at the ASHRAE Student Program. A 24 x 36 poster is required for display at the ASHRAE Student Program. Rising Star price: A representative from the team will receive free transportation and two nights lodging for attendance at the 2018 ASHRAE Winter Meeting to be held in Chicago where the award will be presented at the ASHRAE Student Program. A 24 x 36 poster is required for display at the ASHRAE Student Program.

The mission of the competition isto advance the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.

This competition has four categories:

1. HVAC Design Calculations
2. HVAC System Selection
3. Integrated Sustainable Building Design (ISBD)
4. The Applied Engineering Challenge

Master Degree students can submit their project only in the Integrated Sustainable Building Design(ISBD) category. For the other categories, entries should originate from an undergraduate engineering or architecture curriculum and all team members must be enrolled in an undergraduate program during the semester/term they contribute to the design.

The Integrated Sustainable Building Design competition's aim is to encourage students to extend their knowledge beyond the core mechanical systems. For the ISBD category, the final design level presented may be in a preliminary stage, as the competition's basic intention is to challenge students' imaginative thinking and creative engineering approach to the building and all of its systems.

Team members can be from multiple colleges. All team members must be enrolled during the semester/term in which they contribute to the design.

In 2017 student competition focuses on a new single-story with mezzanine office and repair building in the Diego Ramirez Islands (Islas Diego Ramirez) in Chile, South America. Unlike past competitions the building must be located in the Diego Ramirez Islands, or the entry is disqualified. The final HVAC System Selection and Design for the proposed building shall address the following major design goals:

• Low Life Cycle Cost
• Low Environmental Impact
• Comfort and Health
• Creative High Performance Green Design
• Synergy (with architecture)

All in all ASHRAE 2017 Student Design Project Competition has the following core values:

Excellence
ASHRAE education, technical information and all other activities and products will always reflect the best practices that lead our industry. We strive for continuous improvement and innovation in all our practices and products.

Commitment
ASHRAE and its members are passionate about serving the built environment, creating value, and recognizing the accomplishments of others.

Integrity
ASHRAE is committed to the highest ethical standards. We work transparently, observing essential requirements for due process and peer reviews to assure our members and stakeholders that we do the right things the right way.

Collaboration
ASHRAE seeks and embraces collaborative efforts with organizations, agencies, and individuals sharing our commitment to sustainable built environments.

Volunteerism
Members lead ASHRAE at every level, serving ASHRAE and helping ASHRAE serve society.