Student competition Solar Decathlon postponed to June 2022
The Solar Decathlon Europe 21 in Wuppertal has been rescheduled. The decision to delay the international university competition, due to take place in September 2021, is a reaction to the current COVID-19 pandemic. A new date has been set for June 2022.
Due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus, the organizing team of the Solar Decathlon 21 (SDE21) decided to delay the student competition for sustainable architecture planned in Wuppertal. Now the final takes place in June 2022.
According to a press release of the hosts, the decision was made in close cooperation with the participating teams and the cooperating partners.
«It would have been difficult to host a major event that involves 18 teams from eleven countries and attracts large numbers of visitors in 2021. However, our main reason to postpone the competition is that the current situation significantly affects the quantity and quality of the teams’ contributions»,
Dr. Daniel Lorberg, head of the project
Team MIMO of HSD in digital mode
The pandemic also thwarted the team MIMO of HSD. The schedule and organization of the Solar Decathlon team from Düsseldorf were adopted at short notice, some decisions had to be made in a hurry. But the student team used the spring 2020 to hone drafts, develop ideas further and to increase the team’s size.
Ensure a fair competition
As coronavirus measures vary from country to country, some teams are more strongly affected by the current situation than others.
«The SDE21 schedule is very tight. The teams have less than two years to design an entire building and to construct one representative residential unit in Wuppertal […] Thanks to the postponement, the teams have more time to prepare and we can ensure a fair competition.»
Dr Katharina Simon
Real solutions for real-life challenges
Due to coronavirus, the research accompanying the Solar Decathlon Europe 21 has also been put on hold.
«The SDE21 is not about building just any house, no matter how. It is about finding answers for the city of tomorrow that will actually make a difference. By delaying the competition, we provide the conditions to do just that.»
Lorberg
«We are looking forward to an amazing event in summer 2022 that will be entirely devoted to sustainable housing and living in the city of tomorrow. Now more than ever, we need feasible, innovative solutions for real-life challenges.»
Simon
Within the context of Solar Decathlon Europe, 18 teams from eleven countries realize exemplary projects for efficient architecture and energy transformation in urban districts. The project, which endures for four years, is promoted by the Federal Ministry For Economic Affairs And Energy and organized by a project team of the faculty of architecture and civil engineering from the University of Wuppertal. Project partners are the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, the Utopiastadt gGmbH, the Neue Effizienz GmbH, the WSW Wuppertaler Stadtwerke GmbH and the city Wuppertal.
Headerimage: Photomontage by Bärbel Offergeld, pictures by Debborah Runkel, Magdalena Spinn; montage figures by Skalgubbar.