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Maison Reciprocity Begins Its Run at the Solar Decathlon: Europe 2014 Competition in France

July 3, 2014. Maison Reciprocity, the reimagined row house designed and built by students at Appalachian State University and Universite d’Angers in France, has officially begun its run at the Solar Decathlon Europe (SDE) 2014 competition in Versailles, France.

enThe house will compete against 19 other houses in the international solar home building competition, which challenges student teams from around the world in juried contests such as sustainability, energy efficiency, communications and architecture. Teams will also be charged with performing measured tasks and providing public tours.

After passing inspections following 10 days of construction, Team REC has successfully turned over their home to the SDE competition. This marked a large milestone for the team that has been two years and thousands of hours in the making with more than 1,400 students touching the project in some way. On June 25, Team REC was awarded competition bonus points for meeting both completion deadlines, and was the only team to completely follow their proposed site operations plan in Versailles.

Maison Reciprocity has gathered much attention in the two days that it has been open to the public. International media outlets have photographed the house and interviewed Team REC decathletes. Dignitaries have also toured the house, including the French Minister of Housing, Sylvia Pinel.

The competition will end July 12 with the announcement of the overall winner along with the People’s Choice Award. Awards will be given in certain categories throughout the competition with the first one being Communication and Social Awareness on July 3.