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Celebrate Centennial
This week Emily Spencer Kerby, a remarkable woman who helped shape both Mount Royal and the YWCA of Calgary, nearly 100 years ago, is featured ...
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Solar home set to shine on world stage
After two years of hard work, Team Alberta officially opened the doors to their solar home — the ENMAX SolAbode, which will compete against 19 other teams in the biennial U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C., this October.Mount Royal University President Dave Marshall applauded the Alberta Solar Decathlon team’s determination and hard work at the official send-off celebration held at SAIT on Sept. 10.
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| Helen Evans Warren, associate professor, Department of Interior Design and Art History at Mount Royal. Helen is also an Alberta Solar Decathlon team Core member and Design advisor on the project and works alongside her daughter, Alexandra Warren, who is a MRU student and public relations lead on the project. |
“Team Alberta has demonstrated true innovation by designing a sustainable and liveable house that responds to our western Canadian climate. And through the creative use of wood, water, stone and light, their design reflects Alberta’s distinctive landscape,” says Marshall.
“I believe Team Alberta has truly met its goal of building an innovative home for a brighter future, and Mount Royal University is very proud to be a partner school in this project.”
Mount Royal is one of four post-secondary institutions to collaborate forming the first-ever Western Canadian team to be accepted into the prestigious Solar Decathlon competition.
Team Alberta draws on the diverse talents of more than a hundred students, faculty and staff from SAIT (building expertise), Mount Royal University (interior design and public relations), the University of Calgary (architecture, engineering, business and environmental design) and the Alberta College of Art + Design (interior artwork, dishes and photographic records).
Inside the ENMAX SolAbode
At the Sept. 10 event, attendees had the opportunity to tour the 800-square-foot ENMAX SolAbode which showcases local stone and wood and features energy efficient products from local suppliers. The home was built using environmentally conscious materials and relies solely on solar energy for both heat and power.
Along with the energy-saving systems, the home’s angular ceiling and asymmetrical rooms give the solar home a unique look and feel.
Whitney Nordstrom, a Mount Royal Interior Design student, is a Core member of the Alberta Solar Decathlon team and is the Interior Design Lead on the project.
“What’s exciting about this project is the fact that everyone is thinking outside the box,” says Nordstrom. “We’re coming up with new ideas and we’re making Calgary builders and suppliers more aware of the importance of this type of green design.”
“This is truly a community effort — none of this would be possible without the combined support from all our sponsors.”
Team Alberta received a major boost in June when ENMAX Corporation joined as the title sponsor. To date, the Alberta Solar Decathlon project has received more than $1 million in funding, and on Sept. 10 Western Economic Diversification Canada donated $160,000 to transport the solar home to Washington, D.C. for the competition and then directly to Vancouver to be showcased at the 2010 Olympics, before returning the ENMAX SolAbode to Calgary.
Competition heating up
Team Alberta’s “decathletes” will compete on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. from Oct. 8 to 15 against 19 other university and college teams from around the world. Teams will participate in 10 competitions, including hosting a dinner party and a movie night in the house to show how it performs.
The Solar Decathlon challenges the teams to design, build and operate the most liveable, energy-efficient and completely solar-powered house.
The winner is the team that best blends esthetics and modern conveniences with the maximum energy production and optimal efficiency.
Mount Royal student Alexandra Warren has been involved with the Alberta Solar Decathlon project as the Public Relations Lead and will graduate from Mount Royal with a Bachelor of Applied Communications — Public Relations this fall.
“I think our team will do really well in the competition,” says Warren. “We have a unique design and one that is true to the landscape of Alberta.”
“From this experience I have gained new insights into sustainable living and hands-on communication skills that I can apply in the workplace.”
Starting the week of Sept. 21 the ENMAX SolAbode will be disassembled and loaded onto four separate tractor-trailers for the cross-continental trip to Washington.
Once it arrives at the National Mall in the U.S. capital, Team Alberta will have four days to put it back together. Team members have been divided into round-the-clock shifts to ensure the home is assembled in the tight timeline.
Upwards of 200,000 visitors are expected to tour the “solar village” being created in the National Mall.
The top three teams will be announced Oct. 16.
To follow Team Alberta’s progress in Washington, D.C. visit progress.
For more information on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon visit solar.
—Jondrea De Ruyter