Support of the Solar Decathlon Europe student contest

Saint-Gobain has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with the University of Nottingham's School of the Built Environment (SBE) to support students involved in the "Solar Decathlon Europe." Organized by the Spanish Ministry for Housing and the United States Department of Energy, this competition provides students with the opportunity to design and build passive houses that use only solar energy. The aim is to combine architectural esthetics with energy excellence.

The students are currently involved in the design phase of the plans for their Nottingham House.

This passive house, supplied with solar energy and emitting no CO2, will be built using materials and products manufactured or approved by Saint-Gobain.

Designed and built in the United Kingdom, it will be erected in Madrid (Spain) for the competition final scheduled for June 2010. Nottingham House will be competing against 20 other projects designed by university students in the United States, Brazil, China, Mexico, Germany, Finland, Israel, France, and Spain.