Student designed solar house (wrapped in fabric)

A team of students from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech), literally have pushed the envelope for their solar house prototype designed for the Solar Decathlon.

The CHIP (Compact, Hyper-Insulated Prototype) had a white pillow-like wrap of PVC fabric around the upper part of the house, built along with 19 other architecture school entries on the National Mall of Washington, D.C. in competition for a top prize of overall most efficient solar house. The Decathlon is sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and takes place every other year in late September. SCI-Arc’s CHIP achieves the astounding R-40 rating by placing all the insulation on the outside of the building and wrapping it in an envelope of fabric.

Read more about the CHIP in the FA editor’s blog.