The Design Challenge Finals 2022 were held on May 7 and 8 where, the finalist teams of Solar Decathlon India 2021-22 Challenge presented their state-of-the-art net-zero and climate-resilient designs to the Division Jury, composed of experts from the industry. The teams presented their building solutions with passive and active strategies to meet the cooling demand and proposed interesting innovations to achieve efficiency.

Division Winners

The finalist teams in each division pitched their projects to the jury in 25-minute presentations. Many teams impressed the jury with their innovative ideas and market-ready designs. Some of the innovations that impressed the jury included mobile applications with e-user guides and ongoing performance feedback for users, radiant heating using biogas, noise-absorbing panels, solar water desalination systems, and bamboo charcoal water filters.

Grand Winner

The Division Winners competed for the grand prize by pitching to the Grand Jury, comprising experts from the real estate industry and a media professional. The Grand Winner was from the Office Division, and they proposed some enterprising ideas, such as passive cooling using terracotta tiles and innovations like noise-absorbing panels that converted sound vibrations to energy. What impressed the jury about their project was that their proposal was convincing and implementable.

Outstanding Faculty Award

This year Professor Abu Talha Farooqi, was given the Outstanding Faculty Award for his tremendous support, guidance, and inspiration to the students of the team from Jindal School of Art and Architecture, The Builders. Talking about the future of net-zero building design, he said “The belief in ecological and net-zero design is tested, but this often goes away as bouts of skepticism take over. But, when you see the students, their amazing professional growth, and their sensitisation, that belief comes back.”

Movie Awards

The teams also showcased their work in 3-minute long movies where they told their stories and communicated the value proposition of their projects. The teams competed for the Best Movie and the People’s Choice Movie Awards. The People’s Choice Movie Award was based on the number of votes the movies received on their YouTube videos.