Innovations - Construction & Industrial applications

The Plateau Team from Spain with 27 students from University of Alcala de Henares and University of Castilla La Mancha is presenting a project called SymbCity. The idea of this project is to take advantage of unused space on buildings - roofs, terraces and other elevated urban areas -to optimize the urban infrastructure and create a real symbiosis between existing buildings and the constructions added on their roofs.
Saint-Gobain sponsored this Solar Decathlon Europe project through financial and technical support as well as training and building materials from three brands (ISOVER, Placo® and Saint-Gobain Glass).
They include insulation materials for optimum thermal comfort (ISOVER), ceiling tiles providing good acoustic properties and indoor air quality (GYPTONE by Placo®), double glazing combining high thermal insulation and solar control (SGG CLIMALIT PLUS 4S) and printed decorative glass for interior and exterior applications (SGG SECURIT PIXARENA).

The Mexican team UNAM comprises 78 students from the following UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) entities: the School of Engineering and the School of Architecture, the Research Center of Industrial Design, the National School of Plastic Art and
the School of Social and Political Science. They are competing with a project called CASA, conceived for the Metropolitan Area of Mexico’s Valley, the third most populated metropolitan area in the world. Focusing on issues like water management, pollution and the acute risk of poverty, the students’ aim was to design a sustainable housing proposal to face urban sprawl
and adapt to environmental changes. The envelope is made of several different layers.
Saint-Gobain’s support for this Solar Decathlon Europe project consisted of building materials from two Group brands (ADFORS and Saint-Gobain Glass), assistance on the establishment of the building material
specifications (glass and interior/exterior reinforcement coverings) and general guidance for a correct installation of the building materials.

The Atlantic Challenge team comprising about 100 students from schools in Nantes, including Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Nantes and Ecole Supérieure du Bois, is presenting a project called Philéas. This project consists of renovating CAP 44, an abandoned industrial building from 1895 situated in the Nantes area, by inserting prefab wooden modules in the existing structure. The idea is to transform the building into a multiple use building with housing, offices, a nursery, a restaurant and a farming activity on the roof.
To accompany the team in the execution of this project for the Solar Decathlon Europe Competition 2014, Saint-Gobain gave the students access to the expertise of its researchers and engineers specialized in building physics.

The Indian team Shunya representing 70 students from the Indian Institute of Technology of Bombay and the Academy of Architecture of Mumbai are presenting their H Naught project.
The students’ aim was to design and build an affordable and sustainable zero-energy solar powered house with fast prefabrication and a modular indoor-space to meet the exponentially increasing demand for urban housing and energy in India. At the same time, they wanted to combine modern science with the heritage of India by incorporating essential elements of VastuShastra, the ancient Indian science of buildings and construction. The result is a 4-storey building module designed for a traditional Indian family (grandparents, parents and children).

Saint-Gobain sponsored this Solar Deacthlon Europe project through financial and mentoring support as well as building materials from two Group brands (Gyproc® and Saint-Gobain Glass). The building materials included innovative fire resistant and moisture resistant plasterboard (Gyproc® FRMR) as well as water- and moisture- resistant cement boards (Gyproc® Fiber), in order to adapt the building to a tropical climate with monsoon. Saint-Gobain Glass supplied double glazing (SKN165) with a low U value* and a low solar heat gain to keep the building interior cool, reduce air conditioning costs and achieve excellent light transmission permitting interior illumination using only daylight.

The German-American team Inside Out with 50 students from the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University (United States) and 12 students from University of Applied Sciences (Erfurt) Germany, is competing with its 75 m² Techstyle House which is completely powered by the sun. The house consists of a lightweight steel structure supporting a prestressed architectural membrane insulated by several flexible layers to create a “textile” house meeting the PassivHaus standard, the highest international standard for energy efficiency. It is the first time that a Solar Decathlon team has built a house with an enclosure
entirely made of textiles which allow for a modular design and adaptive spaces that can answer increasingly diverse needs of the modern family.
The textile material the team used is an architectural membrane provided by Saint-Gobain (Sheerfill® II Architectural Membrane with EverClean® Photocatalytic Topcoat) equipped with a weather barrier (CertainTeed), a layer of mineral wool maintained between straps (ISOVER) a vapor barrier (ISOVER) and an interior fabric designed by a NewYork pullover manufacturer creating a free shape supporting flexible PV panels. Saint-Gobain also
provided triple solar control glazing (Saint-Gobain Glass and Glassolutions), bathroom furniture (LAPEYRE) and an innovative lighting fabric (ADFORS) for the bathroom as well as
canvas impregnated with a thin layer of concrete for the design of innovative and durable outdoor furniture. Apart from building materials from 9 Group brands, Saint-Gobain also provided the students with financial support and technical expertise.

The Danish team DTU with about 60 students from the Technical University of Denmark conceived a project named Embrace. It consists of a dwelling where the building envelope is split into two different parts, a thermal envelope and a weather shield. Between the two parts, the team created a new kind of space which could be described as an indoor garden. Thanks to a passive strategy, the weather shield will dramatically improve the local climate around
the thermal envelope. This project is meant to integrate the increasingly dense city of Copenhagen and is aimed at saving resources, energy, space and money. It is perfectly adapted to Denmark’s severe winters with sharp wind and bitter cold.
Saint-Gobain’s support for this Solar Decathlon Europe project consisted of R & D expertise, knowledge about materials and general guidance. The Group also provided very low thermal conductivity materials with a low λ value** (ISOVER Lambda 30) allowing for thinner walls without losing
performance, a climate membrane (ISOVER Vario) to ensure that the timber construction is kept dry and durable and transparent glass (Saint-Gobain Glass) for the solar panels.

** λ: the lambda value is used to express the thermal conductivity of an insulation material – the lower the lambda, the higher the material’s capacity to insulate.