Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 entry reassembled in France

BOONE, N.C. — Maison Reciprocity, Appalachian State University’s entry in the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014, has been reassembled on its Versailles, France, location, and voting for the People’s Choice Award closes July 11.

Appalachian had one of the first teams to assemble its house. The house’s design has garnered the attention of the media, according to Mark Bridges, communications manager for the project. Bridges reported that students have been busy conducting VIP tours of the house and also will give tours to the thousands of visitors expected to visit Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 before it concludes July 14.

The net-zero energy house was constructed in Boone. Six 40-foot modules that comprise the house traveled by cargo ship to the French coast and were then trucked to Versailles, where students had 10 days to reassemble the structure for the two-week competition.

Approximately 50 students from Appalachian participated in the primary design and construction of the home in conjunction with their international partners at the Université d’Angers in France.

Twenty competition houses from 17 countries and three continents are on display. Only two U.S. universities were selected to participate in the international competition. In addition to Appalachian’s Maison Reciprocity, a design by Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University and their international partner, the University of Applied Sciences of Erfurt in Germany, is competing in the event.

Maison Reciprocity is the second Appalachian design to compete in a Solar Decathlon event. Appalachian last competed in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon with its Solar Homestead design.

To vote for the People’s Choice Award for REC-Maison Reciprocity, visit http://www.solardecathlon2014.fr/en/votez. Click on the British flag at the top left of the website to enter the English-language site for voting.

For additional images of Maison Reciprocity, visit Facebook and search for Reciprocity 2014. For more information about the competition, visit http://www.solardecathlon2014.fr/en.

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About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 20,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.