A house designed and built by a team of students from Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies and College of Engineering has placed third in the “Best Documentation” category at Solar Decathlon 2005, a national competition sponsored by the Department of Energy being held this week on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

In addition, the team won three first-place awards in the categories of “Best Architecture,” “Best Dwelling,” and “Best Daylight Lighting,” as well as having tied for first place for “Best Electric Lighting.”

The 18 solar decathlon teams were awarded Documentation contest points based on how well they analyzed their designs for energy performance and how thoroughly they documented the design process. The teams had to document all stages, including the schematic design, design development, construction, and “as-built” phases of the Solar Decathlon project.

As of Thursday, the combined total of points awarded to the Virginia Tech team to date in the Solar Decathlon competition puts the team in second place, with a narrow point spread between them and the team currently in first place. Other categories will be announced on the morning of Friday, Oct. 14.

The grand prize winner will be announced at 2 p.m. on Friday.

For updates on the Solar Decathlon, go to http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon.

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