This competition was created in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Energy with the aim of educating, raising awareness, and promoting understanding of the importance of using renewable energy and preserving the environment. After seven editions held in the United States and Europe in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, it is being held in Latin America and the Caribbean for the first time in 2015.
A multidisciplinary team of 33 students and graduates, with the support of eight faculty members from the schools of Architecture, Engineering, Business Administration, and Social Sciences, and Communication and Design at Universidad ORT Uruguay and built the prototype La Casa Uruguaya, which embodies values of innovation, is low-cost, self-sustaining, generates its own energy, has a minimal ecological footprint, and is suitable for mass production.
After successfully completing the first stage of the competition, fifteen house prototypes designed by students and faculty from prestigious Latin American, European, and North American universities—including the Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Javeriana University in Cali, London Metropolitan University, and the University of Seville—were built at the Villa Solar in the city of Cali, Colombia.
From that point on, the prototypes competed for the top prize: being named the most sustainable affordable home. To that end, they were evaluated by international juries in various categories, and their performance was assessed throughout the twelve-day exhibition, which ran from December 4 to 15.
La Casa Uruguaya the big winner of this year's competition. It won First Prize for being the best sustainable home in the competition. It also won First Prize in the public vote and, within the competition, took first place in the Innovation and Energy Balance categories, second place in Comfort, Home Performance, and Sustainability, and received an honorable mention in Architecture.
This achievement demonstrates that, with the right training, young Uruguayans are capable of excelling on the international stage and bringing honor to their country on the world stage.
Members of the winning team:
Eliseo Cabrera, Ana Shaffer, Pablo Franco Noceto, Laura Moya, Daniel Ruiz, Alicia Mimbacas, Gustavo Bellora, Daniel Gómez, Karen Stancov, Ana Gonzalez, Ignacio Umpierrez, Jose Bonifacino, Luciana Alonso, Sofia Beisso, Paz Amadeo, Rodrigo Echavarría, Valentina Folle, Carolina Lopez Garbarino, Florencia Bernal, Isabel Corujo, Sebastian Bardacosta, Mariana Derderian, Joaquin Oldan, Cristian Kuster, Mateus Wurth, Emiliano Tortorella, Daniel Merlinsky, Juan Jose Behrend, Sebastian Silva, Sebastian Paulos, Nicolas Lopez, Noelia De Santa Ana, Maria Ines Gari, Alvaro Navascues, Javier Bartesaghi, Romina Magunacelaya, Nicolas Fernandez, Valentina Brit, and Jimena Chaibun.