Welcome to Team Oculus’s blog! We are one of the teams competing in Solar Decathlon Africa 2019, taking place this year in September in Morocco. Our team is comprised of three universities with one common vision: to promote a sustainable future. Students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, the National School of Arts and Crafts (ENSAM) in Meknès, and the National School of Computer Science and Systems Analysis (ENSIAS) in Rabat are collaborating to create a house named the Geodome to showcase in September. Throughout this massive project, our teams in Morocco and Massachusetts are constantly communicating with each other even when we’re on the opposite sides of the globe!
Our main goal is to demonstrate an affordable and attractive house tailored to the needs of a rural African community, hoping to inspire communities locally and across the globe to take a step towards a sustainable lifestyle. This is a great mission and as the saying goes: nothing worth having comes easy! Our team is hard at work designing the home, obtaining materials and funding, and communicating with local artisans in Morocco all in preparation for competition day.
Some of the Geodome’s features include:
– Lightweight and natural materials such as wood and wicker to provide a home with sufficient thermal insulation and structural resiliency
– A solar chimney for evaporative cooling and humidity control. We will maximize use of natural ventilation to decrease dependency on heating and cooling technologies
– Specially tailored kitchen and bathroom components and other furniture. With a round shaped home, we’ve got engineers working on designing some round-shaped furniture!
We’ve got more in store to show, but we can’t spoil everything yet! Please stay updated with our blog and see the progress of the Geodome!
