Israelis show off green building skills at the 2013 Solar Decathlon Competition in China, taking home second place in architecture and fourth place overall. 

Founded by the US Department of Energy and sponsored by China’s National Energy Administration, the Solar Decathlon Competition encourages environmentally sustainable architecture, design, and engineering that utilizes solar power technology. According to the Israeli participants’ website,  “Team Israel is a group of students from four leading colleges and universities, incorporating future architects, engineers, and designers.  Our design agenda is inspired by three main themes: the dynamism of Israeli culture and the local construction industry; the increasing prominence of social justice values on the public agenda; and the high solar power potential of our climate.”

From August 2 through 13, 2013, university student groups from all over the world gathered at Peking University to showcase the solar homes they constructed. The 22 participating teams came from a total of 35 universities in 13 countries across the globe. The Israeli students hailed from Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, the College of Management Academic Studies, Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environmental Studies and the Neri Bloomfield School of Design and Education.

In the competition, the Israelis entered a four-room, modernly decorated home that thrives on solar energy, reusable gray water, a solar-thermal heating system, windows paned with photovoltaic cells and an external skeleton that can be disassembled and reassembled with ease. “This house proves that green is economic – really affordable housing – in the latest sense of the word,” said Shenkar College faculty member Joseph Cory. “Such a house could easily double in size with the growth of a family and in the future be reduced, according to changing needs.”

Green design website inhabitat.com lauded the Israeli team’s home for “blend[ing] Israel’s traditional building techniques with new technologies and sustainability. The design is based on a Mediterranean ‘4 Room Israelite House,’ which is an ancient building archetype found in archeological remains in the region from about 3500 years ago. The team’s modern interpretation places a strong focus on the courtyard, which provides space for entertaining, relaxing, and gardening. Inside, the home features a large, open living, kitchen and dining area, with a bathroom and bedroom off to one side.”

According to Architecture Daily News, “Team Israel makes a point of using only environmentally-friendly materials throughout the house, incorporating a light steel frame structure and recyclable materials such as fiber cement board instead of traditional cement and FSC-certified bamboo … [a]ll house furniture is made out of these sustainable, resistant and recycled materials and can be arranged in different configurations to suit the owner’s needs. The result is a flexible, sustainable design for a home that strongly reflects the environmental, cultural and social aspects of the Israeli region.”

To learn more, see the video below!

By Rachel Avraham, staff writer for United With Israel