ORANGE COUNTY SUSTAINABILITY DECATHLON ANNOUNCES 2023 PARTICIPANTS
18 Teams From Across the Globe Have 17 Months to Design and Build Innovative, Net-Zero Homes of the Future as Part of a Major Collegiate
Competition ORANGE, CALIF.—Organizers of the Orange County Sustainability Decathlon (OCSD) announced today that they selected 18 teams to take part in its inaugural groundbreaking event.
Eleven of the participating teams represent California institutions, including University of California schools, California State University institutions, a community college, and a vocational school.
The OCSD is an exciting competition for schools of architecture and engineering that challenges multidisciplinary teams to design, build, and showcase innovative, net-zero energy buildings with sustainable materials and state-of-the-art technology. The OCSD will offer consumers a collection of affordable, market-ready homes to accelerate the availability of sustainable dwellings that reflect design excellence and energy efficiency.
The teams selected are:
- Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah)
- California State University, Fullerton
- California State University, Long Beach
- California State University, Northridge
- Central Washington University (Ellensburg, Wash.)
- Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles)
- Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and University of California, Irvine
- Rancho Cielo Construction Academy (Salinas, Calif.)
- Tongji University (Shanghai) and University of East London
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (Shenzhen, China)
- University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.)
- University of California, Irvine
- University of California, Riverside
- University of California, San Diego
- University of California, San Diego and Zhejiang Normal University (Jinhua, China)
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Va.)
State Sen. Dave Min (SD-37) championed a large grant from the State of California to fund this competition, and each participating team will receive seed money to get started on its project.
The competition will take place in Orange County, Calif., in October 2023 (site and specific dates to be announced next month).
“California’s legislature has adopted the bold and commendable goal of state energy sources being 100% renewable by 2045 (SB 100). To maintain California’s leadership position in the field of clean energy, we must harness the creative energy of our youth, the academic community, industry, and labor,” stated Fred Smoller, the OCSD president and CEO. “By working together, this competition could help make California the sustainability capital of the world.”
In addition to the competition, the OCSD will feature an expo that displays the latest and greatest in clean technology. The organizers’ goal is to make the event a world’s fair of sustainability that puts Orange County and the greater Southern California region at the forefront of innovation and sustainable housing. “The expo will build environmental awareness and motivate people to adopt sustainable practices in their everyday lives without sacrificing comfort or convenience,” said Smoller.
“The genius of Orange County’s economy is its ability to reinvent itself—from ranching, to agriculture, to defense, entertainment, and financial services. The next chapter is sustainability. Why can’t OC, with its fine universities and bipartisan commitment to environmental causes, be the hub for the manufacturing of solar panels, windmills, and other goods and services that foster sustainability? That’s good for jobs, the tax base, and of course, the planet,” added Smoller.
Learn more about the OCSD by visiting www.ocsd23.com.
