A student team with strong representation from Waterloo Engineering took a top prize at a recent international competition involving the design of energy efficient homes and schools.
Warrior Home, which boasts about 50 active members, was represented at the Race to Zero Student Design Competition in Colorado by engineering students Sharon Emmanuel, Sara Turner, Anita Cheng, Rebecca Wong and Anirudh Dharmarajan.
Warrior Home team members (left to right) Rebecca Wong, Anita Cheng, Sara Turner, Sharon Emmanuel and Anirudh Dharmarajan pose at the recent Race to Zero Student Design Competition in Colorado.
The team finished first in the attached housing category, one of five categories in the contest, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The competition featured 84 teams from 68 institutions in nine countries, with 40 teams qualifying for the recent finals.
Launched in 2014, the event challenges students to apply sound building science principles to create cost-effective, market-ready designs for homes and schools capable of offsetting all or most of their energy consumption with on-site renewable sources.
“The students participating represent the next generation of architects, engineers and construction managers that can fully integrate building science with design,” said Kathleen Hogan, an official with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Comprised of members from five engineering disciplines, the School of Architecture and the Faculty of Environment, the Waterloo team has partnered with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity to help develop local affordable housing.