A team from Tianjin University is preparing for the final competition of the Solar Decathlon China 2021 (SDC). The team named Team Tianjin U+ has ranked No. 1 in the competition’s mid-term evaluation with their work R-CELLS.

As the prototype of solar housing, R-CELLS represented the idea of "the lifelong healthy and ecological residence", responding the three challenges of “sustainable development, intelligent interconnection, and human health” put forward by SDC 2021.

The pre-construction version of R-CELLS will be displayed at the "China Building Science Conference and Green Intelligent Building Expo" in Tianjin National Exhibition Center at the end of June 2021. Besides the building itself, some relevant contents of the construction and intelligent scheme will also come to light, and road shows will be organized to warm up the upcoming SD China held in Zhangjiakou City.

Initiated by the United States Department of Energy, Solar Decathlon (SD) is an international collegiate competition, comprising ten contests, which challenges university teams to design, build, and operate highly efficient and innovative houses powered by renewable energy. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends design architectural and engineering excellence with innovation, market potential, building efficiency, and smart energy production. The SD has currently expanded globally in the United States, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America & the Caribbean.

SDC 2021 has invited universities from all over the world to cooperate with enterprises to design a green solar house that meets the requirements of “sustainable development, intelligent interconnection, and human health”. All groups will have their designs implemented in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province this September, in a bid to support 2022 Beijing-Zhangjiakou Winter Olympic Games and the construction of national renewable energy demonstration zone.

As early as 1970s, TJU started to conduct research on solar architectures. In 2010, TJU, as the first Asian group made its debut in the European Solar Decathlon and presented its work "sun flower".

Team Tianjin U+, led by the School of Architecture, pools the strength of many in-campus institutions and schools including APEC Sustainable Energy Center, College of Intelligence and Computing, School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Electrical and Information Engineering and Tianjin International Engineering Institute. This team also brings in muscles from Tianjin University Research Institute of Architectural Design and Urban Planning Co., Ltd, Tianjin Chengjian University and Oslo School of Architecture and Design. It comprises more than 20 consultants and tutors and over 50 participants including doctoral students, graduates and undergraduates.

By Cheng Sheng

Editor: Eva Yin