Results for the first two major juries in the "subjective contest" categories are in. Here is a recap of each, including the description of each contest from the Solar Decathlon website.

Architecture - 82 Points (8th Place)

Teams are required to design and build attractive, high-performance houses that integrate solar and energy-efficiency technologies seamlessly. A jury of professional architects evaluates team construction documents and the final constructed house. It evaluates three main factors: architectural elements, holistic design, and inspiration.

Deanna Hinkle, Steve Winter, Dave Nedrow, Jared Lairmore, Courtney Keys, and Neal Clements were the team members involved in the architectural jury presentation this past Saturday. The main points of emphasis the team focused on were the house as a reinterpretation of the American living condition, the manner in which the house references Ohio's heritage, thoughtful integration of architecture with passive and active systems, and adaptability of space, specifically the way in which the user interacts physically with the house. The most enjoyable aspect of this tour was demonstrating the operable features for the jury, as this interior manipulation is not possible during larger public tours. All three of the jurors were engaging and asked great questions. Unlike many "architectural juries" where the format is a bit rigid, this presentation ended up striking a nice balance between a relaxed presentation and casual conversation. In the end, we're very pleased with the final result and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Market Viability - 91 Points (5th place: tied with Minnesota and Germany)

Teams build their houses for a target market of their choosing. They are then asked to demonstrate the potential of their houses to keep costs affordable within that market. A jury of professionals from the homebuilding industry evaluates how well suited the house is for everyday living, determines whether the construction documents would enable a contractor to construct the house as intended, and assesses whether the house offers potential homebuyers within the target market a good value.

Jared Lairmore and Deanna Hinkle began by explaining the house as a reinterpretation of the way in which the typical American house allocates space and the manner in which one interacts with their physical environment. Key points of emphasis were the way in which the occupant can easily adapt the space to a variety of situations and overall livability. Steve Winter and Neal Clements followed up with a taboo topic for many designers (money) and explained how the house uses readily available, off-the-shelf building components and prefabrication as a means of keeping costs down. They also noted that the house uses typical construction techniques optimized for efficiency in order to engage the existing workforce of residential contractors. Kurtis Meyer and Lucas Dixon finished by explaining how the house can be utilized as an infill project in several Columbus, Ohio neighborhoods as well as in less dense development. They also noted how the house addresses the two fastest growing market segments in central Ohio, those being young professionals and empty-nesters.

We'd like to thank the jurors for each contest for their time and interest. It is evident that the contest organizers did their homework in selecting qualified, engaging sets of jurors and we enjoyed the interaction during our presentations. Other contests are ongoing and the overall rankings change daily, so please check the DOE Solar Decathlon website for updates. You can access current standings at http://www.solardecathlon.org/scoring. Also, for more information on specific jury members, please visit http://www.solardecathlon.org/juries.cfm.