Highlights: the last year in Blog 0November 3, 2011

With the Solar Decathlon over and the Victoria team back home in New Zealand it seems like a good time to take a look back over the past year at some of the highlights for the team and the Meridian First Light house.

Finishing the design process – This time last year the design for the house was completed and we were getting ready to begin construction.  At that stage we were seeking funding and still not sure if we had the funds to get the house and the team to the US.

Meridian - Early in 2011 the First Light house became the Meridian First Light house and we were given the security by the amazing team at Meridian that we would make it to the competition.

The team with Meridian on the solar coffee morning

Frank Kitts Park – Construction of the house was complete (almost) and the student team along with builders from Mainzeal worked tirelessly in the mud down on Wellington’s waterfront to get the Meridian First Light house assembled in less than 7 days.

While the assembly was a stressful time for the team with many of the team juggling assignments with construction duty it was well worth it.  The practice assembly gave us a huge amount of experience and meant the same process in the US went incredibly smoothly. Not only did we get to practice wielding a hammer (or drill) we also got to hone our tour guiding skills with 20,000 people through the house over 18 days.

Lines stretch back to see the house on Frank Kitts Park in Wellington

Up for auction – On the same day the house left on a ship from the port of Tauranga it was sold by auction at Harcourts in Wellington.  It was a moment of mixed emotions for the team who would be sorry to eventually say goodbye to the house but were happy the house would be lived in and made into a real home.

Reaching dry land – The team had a slightly nerve racking month while the house was on the water but once it arrived safely in the US and word was sent back that no damage could be seen everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The Solar Decathlon – The competition in Washington DC was what we had been working towards for so long. We had a great time during the competition in the US, with one highlight after the next, here are just a few of them:

-          During assembly being named the safest team of the bunch (while this was not part of the judging we took pride in the planning that had gone into place which allowed us to keep a very safe and orderly site).

-          Being the second team to get all of the sign off’s required, all with hours to spare before the deadline.

The team celebrate the last piece of deck being laid

-          Seeing the Meridian First Light house complete with the Washington Monument in the background.

-          Finally getting to take a look around the 18 other amazing houses and meeting the teams who were responsible for them.

19 teams get together for a group photo

-          Taking thousands of the US public through the house – who responded incredibly well to the house and to the team, even if the words “bach” and “deck” did illicit a few giggles.

-          Having a number of Kiwi ex pats and VIP’s through the house including Helen Clark.  One of the nicest things about taking the Kiwi’s through the house was they said they felt a like they were back in NZ.  We may have inadvertently made a few people a wee bit homesick.

-          Placing 1^st in engineering – a bit of a surprise to most of the team! Plus 1^st equal in energy balance (proving the house is net zero!!) and hot water, 2^nd in architecture and 3^rd in market appeal.

-          Getting 3^rd overall had to be the best moment of the competition. When the first results of the competition came out we were sitting at 9^th place, over the course of a week we inched our way up the ranks and to our joy made it to third place after the final results were announced.

The team's reaction to winning third place

The team members have just about all made it back to New Zealand now and will be on its way in a few days. This has been an incredible experience for all those involved and we couldn’t have done it without the support of so many New Zealanders.

Thank you to all of you who have followed our progress over the past months, we’ve had a blast and we hope you’ve enjoyed being a part of it too!

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