Solar-Powered Canopy for an Urban Tower

By archives on Oct. 2, 2012 | Topics: Single Family, Solar | 2 Comments

Turns out the Rhône Alpes team from France with the Canopea house won Solar Decathlon Europe held in Madrid. Their home is actually the top of a conceptual “Nanotower” that the team proposed to bring single-family style living back to the urban core. The top level acts like a rain forest’s canopy — hence the name — by collecting 95% of all solar energy and 30% of rainwater for the tower. Canopea was built of a prefab CORE, site-built SKIN, and a SHELL capable of off-site fabrication as well.

[+] More about Canopea from the Rhône Alpes (France) team.

Photo credits: SD Europe.

Article tags: alternative energy, international, residential, Solar Decathlon

About archives: This article was contributed by the founder of Jetson Green. With the arrival of new ownership in December 2012, Preston left Jetson Green to pursue other business opportunities. If you have questions or need assistance, contact tips@jetsongreen.com.