Byline by Mike McCulley

October 18, 2007

This sixth day of the competition began and ended with some memorable highlights. This morning, 150 points were on the line with the announcement of the Market Viability contest. Marketability, affordability, and buildability—all important considerations for the housing market—are measured and evaluated as part of this contest. The University of Illinois came out on top.

The excitement at the end of the day centered around the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Spain to expand the Solar Decathlon to a European venue. We'll talk more about that later.

The juried portion of the Market Viability contest evaluates market appeal. Those jurors are Jim Ketter with the Tierra Group, Doug Lowe of Artisan Construction, Joyce Mason of Pardee Homes, and Bob Burt of Burt Construction Services, who presented the awards this morning. Other portions of the contest look at economic analysis and planning documents.

Burt began by saying that his 35-year career in the building industry has been based on knowing what is buildable and marketable. He is convinced that people want something different from what the housing market is delivering. With obvious delight, Burt announced the placings for the Market Viability contest:

1st Place, University of Illinois, 114.35 points
2nd Place, University of Maryland, 112.5 points
3rd Place, Penn State, 109.95

Some comments from the jury follow:

Illinois—This house features great modularity. The use of recycled materials is great. The idea of expanding a house over time is very appealing. The passive solar design is well done. The space feels larger than it is—it does not feel cramped, and the two windows at the end of the house expand the space. This house seems like it would not require a lot of maintenance. The team did an excellent job on the economic analysis!