The teams of students who participated at this year’s Solar Decathlon were instructed to design their energy-efficient houses for $250,000 or less. Solutions included some pointedly avant-garde designs. Yet some students and faculty advisers worry that the Decathlon’s new emphasis on affordability will deter innovation and lead to the construction of more-pedestrian homes. Other participants found fault with the system for estimating costs. Nevertheless, a few entries succeeded in making a significant point: Going green can have mass-market appeal.

Check out the links below for the winners in each category. You can also click here for our coverage of all of the participating teams and their houses.
And you can click here to read Lawrence Biemiller's essay about the legacy of past Solar Decathlons.

2011 Winners

Overall
University of Maryland

Architecture
University of Maryland

Market Appeal
Middlebury College

Engineering
New Zealand

Affordability
Parsons NS Stevens,
Team Belgium

Energy Balance
New Zealand,
Purdue,
Tennessee,
Florida International,
Maryland,
Illinois,
SCI-Arc/Caltech