Solar Decathlon Daily Journal - Day One

October 03, 2007

The assembly phase of the 2007 Solar Decathlon officially began just after midnight on the morning of Wednesday, October 3rd. Seventy oversized trucks carrying huge sections of houses rumbled onto the National Mall in the early morning hours, marking the start of an amazing 21-day saga. Finally, after two years of planning, it's showtime!

All the student teams were present and accounted for, but not necessarily all the houses. For instance, Santa Clara University's house was still in Nebraska somewhere. The transport truck had a broken axle and was at the side of the road, waiting for a welder to repair it. That's tough luck for a team that had already traveled farther than most other teams, yet was still only halfway across the country! The team members were anxious last night, but by mid-day their spirits were lifted when word came that the axle was fixed and the house was moving through Ohio. We are all praying for a safe arrival tomorrow.

The first day of assembly was an amazing spectacle of trucks and cranes and equipment, all converging on a narrow strip of land in front of the nation's capital. It's a race against time to get ready—to build not just one house, but an entire village of 20 houses in a week's time.  The teams are well organized and went about their tasks with purpose and directness. No one was just standing around. And by the end of the day, an amazing amount of work had been accomplished. Everyone was tired, but elated.

As the setting sun shone on the Capitol, its dome served as an awesome background for the birth of a new solar community. We all felt today was very successful, and we hope it will be the start of something special.

Click photo to view a larger image.

Posted at 10:45 PM in Daily Journal | Permalink

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