Category: Solar Decathlon Projects

Ball State Architecture Students Earn Recognition in International Competition

May 27, 2025 by CAP

A team of 10 fourth-year architecture students from Ball State University’s R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (ECAP) received an honorable mention award in the U.S. Department of Energy BuildingsNEXT™ Student Design Competition (formerly Solar Decathlon™). This highly competitive event included 79 teams across four divisions, with four teams per division—16 in total—receiving an honorable mention accolade. […]

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Urban Planning Chair Shares Outreach and Partnerships in the Old West End

October 10, 2024 by CAP

By JOHN H. West, PhD, Chair of the Department of Urban Planning The planning students who I teach every year are typically enthusiastic about working with or for ‘the community.’ In everyday-talk, planners invoke the community as a justification for one project over another, they convene public meetings and then describe the people who attend […]

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The Alley House Receives More Awards

March 14, 2024 by CAP

Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning architecture students and faculty co-leads, Pam Harwood and Tom Collins, were awarded the 2024 AIA Indianapolis Design Excellence Award for their work on the Alley House, a net-positive, sustainable, high-performance two-family home located in the near eastside of Indianapolis. The Alley House previously claimed the top spot […]

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CAP Students Design and Build a House

August 17, 2022 by CAP

2023 Solar Decathlon Build Challenge Since the Summer of 2021 a multi-disciplinary group of Ball State Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) students and faculty have ventured into a five-semester-long design and build project for the 2023 Solar Decathlon Build Challenge, an international competition conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy. During this two-year […]

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Ball State Students Advance to Build Their House and Place Second in Design Challenge

July 26, 2022 by CAP

The Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Competitions gives student teams the option to participate in either the Design Challenge, a one- to two-semester, design-only competition, or the Build Challenge, a 2-year project where qualifying teams design and build houses that are displayed and judged in their local communities. This year, Ball State CAP students competing […]

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Ball State CAP Celebrated the Future Build of the Eco-Friendly Duplex, Alley House

July 16, 2022 by CAP

R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) hosted a public groundbreaking event on July 13 that celebrated the future construction of an affordable, net-zero energy, sustainable duplex family home in Indianapolis’ Near Eastside designed by a team of CAP students and faculty. The event included several educational stations about the duplex, yard games, and […]

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Ball State Solar Decathlon Project History

July 3, 2022 by CAP

2013 SD Build – Collaboration with University of Louisville Market Strategy: The Phoenix house is designed for middle-class families affected by tornados or other natural disasters. Although designed to be built quickly, it is also designed to be durable, safe, and sustainable—reflecting a spirit of permanence and resilience. For its owners, the ultra-efficient house is designed for long-term comfort and cost savings. 2017 Race […]

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College of Architecture and Planning Student Teams Advance to Finals of Solar Decathlon Competition

April 14, 2022 by CAP

All six of Ball State’s student teams from the University’s College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) competing in this year’s Solar Decathlon Design and Build Challenges—a U.S. Department of Energy competition—have advanced to the finals in the categories of New Housing, Retrofit Housing, Attached Housing, and Office Building and Education Building. Five of the six teams are participating […]

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Ball State Places in the Solar Decathlon Competition

April 28, 2021 by CAP

Each year students from the Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. This year, CAP had two teams taking third place in two categories, the “Urban Single-Family” and “Elementary School” divisions. The purpose of the competion is to challenge students to design and build highly […]

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CAP Sudents Placing in 2020 Solar Decathlon Design Competition

July 20, 2020 by CAP

Four Ball State teams were selected as finalist for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. Teams competing in the competition work for one or two academic semesters preparing creative solutions for real-world issues in the building industry. Each category awards a first, second, and honorable mention place. This year, our students submitting […]

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