Project Description
The Solar Decathlon Build Challenge 2023 (henceforth SD23) marks SHAC’s third entry into the Solar Decathlon competition, an international green building challenge hosted by the US Department of Energy. This project aims to address Alameda County’s lack of affordable housing and growing youth homelessness through innovative, sustainable engineering with heavy community involvement from the underserved target market. Over 8000 individuals in Alameda County alone experience homelessness daily, with youth (ages 18-24) comprising up to 9% of that population (753 individuals as of 2019). SD23 seeks to address the substantial lack of affordable housing in Alameda County while applying principles of sustainable design. Our team of ~60 undergraduate and graduate students across UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco are collaborating with local nonprofit Youth Spirit Artworks (YSA) and over 20 industry sponsors to design and build a hybrid community center and living space, named the Sustainability, Education, and Arts Development (SEAD) Center for a tiny house village for unhoused youth in Oakland.
Project Links:
Project Poster (coming soon!)