theBusheys.com > Solar Decathlon 2005 > Puerto Rico

Team Website	http://solar.uprm.edu/

Puerto Rico: This house raises an interesting question, since the team is from a different climate than where the competition is being held: For a competiton in which passive heating and cooling and environmental response is so important, which climate do you tailer the house to? Since the contests take place in the Mall, it would make sense to design the house to the washington climate. However, the transportation requirements alone limit that approach. When we were in this house, the tour guide was getting asked about why they did not use a concrete floor, a staple construction method in carribean vernacular architecture. They determined it just didn't make sense for the washington climate in late october.

A good example of a properly ventilated and well lit vestibule.