DTU, as being the base for technical developments in Denmark, has a close affinity to what the Solar Decathlon proposes.

From its early beginnings in 2002, the SDC has envisioned a collegiate competition where emerging technologies related to housing, could venture in the realization of viable projects for future endeavours. Currently, the event contemplates ten distinct areas of competition where fields regarding architecture, engineering are relevant areas of knowledge come into play to materialize a housing solution to current world problems.

Despite this ever-growing selection of challenges, the SDC always contemplated core elements for its development, being these highly efficient edifications with renewable resources. All these considerations while keeping relevant topics like health, cost and resilience as constant are relevant as ever.

To achieve this, students from all around the world come together in this challenge to provide solutions with new and exciting technologies.

This is where DTU comes in. The inspiration for DTU towards renewable technologies in housing solutions dates back to the '70s with the zero-energy building. Coming to more modern times, the commitment renewed itself with DTUs participation in the SDC in 2012 with the Fold Concept, 2014 with the Embrace project and in 2018 with the Super Villa.

This project has the support of DTU as an institution together with experts and students of various technical fields.

The main goal behind this project is to create awareness of current problems and how to face them with existing and affordable solutions. Ultimately this could reshape the urban environments with an open dialogue of renewable technologies and position Denmark at the Avangard of renewable developments.

Semester plan

Starting from August 2020 till September of 2021, the DTU team has laid out a structured and flexible plan to reach the proposed milestones by the SDC board.

This plan contemplates both the design and implementation of the full structure to be assembled in China as well as attaining the requirements to be part of the competition.

The 4th Quarter of 2020 will comprise the design phase of the project. In this period, relevant topics as that of the selection of solar and building systems, integration of techniques, energy systems, components and their life cycle will be assessed. The full holistic combination of this knowledge area will culminate in the November deliverable for the Design Development.

The 1st Quarter of 2021 will see throughout the development of the applied technologies and their inlining innovations for further competitiveness in the event. This phase will see its materialization in the April deliverable for the Construction Documentation.

The 2nd quarter of 2021 will continue with the developments of applied implementations, design and assembly tasks. This process will aid the deliverables of the As-Built Documentation as well as for the Project Summary and  Jury Deliverables.

From then on, all previous developments will come together to culminate in the final commission and assembly in China, where the ´21 edition of the SDC will take place.