Goodbye Madrid!!!!!

The Decathletes and the B&W House are ready to win the Solar Decathlon 2009!!!


TeamSPAIN bids farewell to Madrid from the Alcalá Gate!


GOODBYE!!

Interview with Javier Serra

We hope you enjoy this interview with Javier Serra. The interview is in Spanish, but we've provided English subtitles for you.

TeamSPAIN in the news (again)

Hello everyone!

Yesterday was a great, great, GREAT day.

TeamSPAIN made a visit to its most prominent sponsor: The Spanish Ministry of Housing. We also spent a few minutes in the company of the Minister, Beatriz Corredor, who took interest in our backgrounds and future careers. The Vicechancellor of our University was also present. We parked our three trailers in front of the Ministry, at one of the main streets of Madrid, and were able to catch the attention of many passersby.



After our visit, we hopped on the trailers and went for a tour of Madrid, showing off our house and taking pictures of the Team as a farewell to the city that has seen this project grow to great heights.



The Black&House will be departing soon, and we are proud to say that we bid it farewell with style :-)

TeamSPAIN

Installations countdown!

Yesterday was an exciting day! We learned how to mount the white tarp that goes under our PV (photovoltaic) roof structure. The tarp must be folded very precisely, so learning how to dismantle the tarp was also essential.The result is spectacular!

Apart from that, we have been working on the façades of the house. The thermal panels were assembled separately and adhered to the walls. Other than that, the PV glass-glass modules were put together and framed. Little by little, we´re getting there. Important progress has been made on the electrical installation and plumbing systems, as well. The tanks are being connected, so now our technical room has a really neat look! It´s terribly hot here in Spain, but we are working as hard as ever. The results are great, as you can see from the pictures below!

Today: Interview with Luis Maldonado

Hello! Today we've interviewed our center's director: Professor Luis Maldonado. For those who are so inclined, we've included the interview below.

Unfortunately, the interview is in Spanish and we couldn't post it in English, but this seems as good an opportunity as any to learn our beautiful language :)

Packing up!

Have you ever packed an entire house, and all the equipment necessary for it as it prepares to embark on a two month journey across the Atlantic? And have had to also include the the equipment for the more than 20 decathletes who will be competing??? It's not that easy!!!

This has been a difficult task not only for the physical effort it requires, but also for the psychological effort, as we also had to inventory absolute everything... twice!!! Once in Spanish (for us and our customs) and a second time in English (for the US customs).

Trip to Tecnove

Hello dear blog readers! We have just returned from our trip to Tecnove. During this trip, we've packed every single item that needs to be shipped to Baltimore.

While we were at Tecnove, we also tested the PV (photovoltaic) panels. In order to do so, we had to connect all the panels that form the solar roof. Take a look below, and you'll see the final product of all our hard work: here's a photograph of our self orientated roof top!

I hope you all enjoy this amazing photo: it's taken a lot of hard work to bring you this product!

In a place called La Mancha…

This photo portrays the exquisitely beautiful flat and arid landscape of the Spanish region in the center of our country. This is where “The B&W House” is being built, in a town called Herencia, about 130 km from Madrid. The construction company, Tecnove (see photo below), has been helping us immensely in putting the house together. Next week, the house will be finished, and all the technical and architectonical devices will be in their places. During this past month, the architects and engineers have been very busy, and we've been trying just as hard to follow the building process. There is no doubt that every visit we have made to Tecnove has educational, and we have learned practical tips and tricks along the way. In sum, it has been an enriching experience!

3D Modeling at 300%

As you can see from these pictures, the creation of our wonderful 3D renders requires a lot of effort and even more resources. Here we can see Nacho working with three computers simultaneously on 3D Studio, thanks to the V-Ray plugin and Rhino3D!!

Cibeles Runway at the TeamSPAIN Studio!

Here at TeamSPAIN, we have become true fashionistas! We are in the middle of choosing our official uniform for the Solar Decathlon 2009 Competition! We are deciding on the cut, the fabric, the color and design.

So far, we have decided that we will be wearing two kinds of outfits: a suit and a more casual uniform that we will be wearing while assembling the house and doing hard labor during the Competition! The suits are for when we freshen up and show off our fantastic project!

Take a look at some of our Decathletes trying on our snazzy new suits!

Guess Where We are From?!

Our flag for the competition has just arrived! Now everyone at the Mall will know where we are from!

TeamSPAIN has arrived, and it's here to stay!

PS: In the picture, you have two of our Decathletes holding up the flag... Notice that the Decathlete on the right is Gabriella... from Potenza, Italy... but she is totally feeling the Spanish Spirit and is waving our flag with pride!!! (she better be, because otherwise...)

TeamSPAIN

Tubes & Cables

It is really magnificent to see how the elements of water and electricity, although different in nature, come together to form the installations essential for the everyday needs of a house.
The B&W's installations are not so different from those of other houses, except for the fact that they are massively more complex.
Electric wiring fits better, but results in a chaotic frame in the kitchen. Plumbing installations require big water tanks and careful positioning, and no matter how much we obsess over the details and play tetris with the tanks, the whole system still takes up an entire room by itself.

But we've got our creativity hats on and are continuously coming up with new solutions to space management.

TeamSPAIN

Shopping for "The B&W House"

We are preparing our house with all the furnishings that a cosy home needs. Paula, Irene, and our personal shopper Rául, popped into an Ikea store. They spent the whole afternoon there and were able to get most of the items from our list.

TeamSPAIN

His Royal Highness and... The Black&White House

We have fantastic news!!!

We are so, so, SO THRILLED to have received this news today: His Royal Highness, Príncipe Felipe, has agreed to be the Honorary President of The Black&White House!!!

This is a true honor and privilege for us, but it is also yet another sign of the impact that The Black&White House project is having in Spanish society, the media, and in promoting new trends in the building industry.

Now we're off to celebrate this momentous occasion!

TeamSPAIN

Wacom Boy

What’s up docs?

This is my little space where I draw all the funny stuff that you find in our Newsletters. I like to draw in Photoshop with my preciousssss, the Wacom Intuos Tablet.

Today I’ve finished drawing a new comic strip that will appear soon in the Fifth Newsletter.

So... stay tuned!!

***SPOILER ALERT*** (((Up!)))

Luis

How Wide is Your Angle?

Dear Followers... who says we can't do two things at once?

Today Jon was having lunch while interviewing the Decathletes for a video. At that same moment, he was also setting up a Twitter account, while taking outside shots of the School of Architecture. David was keeping him company along the way, except for that lunch part. Everything is going according to plan, and on Monday we will finish the interviews and start working on the graphics and art design.

It is interesting how much people change when in front of (or behind) a camera...

Lumus Maxima

The lighting team (Jordi & Victor) don't stop. We paid one of our last visits of the year to Philips today, as we are getting ready to program the lighting protocol for the automatic control system.

Today's acquisitions included a 7W LED bulb for our workstation lamp and 3 LED candles.

The 7W LED bulb caught my attention from the beginning. Its lumen flow is equivalent to that of a 40W tungsten bulb and it doesn't get hot. It also has a life of 45000 hours (45 times that of a common bulb!) and it still projects warm white light (3100K). And here's the best thing: when you buy it, it's already set to replace any ordinary bulb (unscrew the old one, screw in your new MasterLED). The only thing I am not happy about is that it is a bit heavy for its size. Still, I am simply amazed at how easy it can be to start saving energy. It's all about the small changes you make...

TeamSPAIN

Today's Interview

Today "La aventura del Saber," also known as "The Adventure of Knowledge," a very important program broadcasted on "La 2" and "TVE international" (two international broadcasting channels from Spain), is filming a special report about the Solar Decathlon 2009 and the Solar Decathlon Europe 2010.

The interview and the report will be shown sometime in September of 2009! We'll keep you posted.

TeamSPAIN

Tools, Tools, Tools...

Hello Everybody,

Today, Jordi and Katja bought a lot of tools and equipment for the House's construction site. Hammers, screwdrivers, generators, safety equipment, scaffolding, cleaning material, etc.

WE ARE READY TO ASSEMBLE OUR HOUSE NEXT WEEK

We'll see you next week on site!

TeamSPAIN

Lights, Camera... Action!

Yep! We are preparing another video, making it the third that we are currently working on.

This time we are filming a "B&W House Video Presentation." In this video, we will introduce you to our big bosses from the University and to members of the Spanish government, and all the members of TeamSPAIN will introduce you to the features of The B&W House. The goal is to make this video be something that we can show on the Internet, on TV, and at the Mall in Washington, too!

We have just finished writing the script, and we will start filming tomorrow. Some of our team members are feeling a little nervous about getting in front of the camera, but they are brave people and we are confident they will do a good job ;-)

In the meantime, there is a conference being held at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid, at which the Vice-Chancellor of our University will be introducing The Solar Decathlon competition. A group of decathletes will also be visiting the construction site of our House pretty much every day, in order to make sure that everything is running smoothly there.

Lots of action is happening here… not bad at all!

Newsletter Issue Number 4

Hello Everyone!

We have just released our Fourth Newsletter, filled with articles about SIMA, our presentation in Rivas, information about our sponsors, a brand new comic strip, and much more! We are already working on the next issue, but you can enjoy this one in the meantime.

TeamSPAIN

A luxurious Made in Spain dinner with the masterful touch of Chef José Andrés.

You are cordially invited to dine with two Decathletes from our team on the 9th and 12th of October, and to participate in the Home Entertainment portion of the Solar Decathlon 2009 competition. TeamSPAIN will be serving a very special, “finger-licking good” dinner in the Black&White House. From day one, we have wanted to organize something unique and surprising for this particular evening. This year, we are honoured to have chef José Andrés as our official patron and culinary advisor working with TeamSpain..

José is a world-renowned chef who is known as the “unofficial Spanish ambassador” to the United States. His business, the THINKfoodGROUP, operates some of the most popular restaurants in Washington, D.C.; the Jaleo restaurant was the first to introduce “tapas”-style dining to the U.S. José Andrés also supervises the specialties at Café Atlántico, which serves Latin American inspired cuisine, Zaytinya, which serves a fusion of Greek and Turkish food, Oyamel, serving traditional Mexican foods, and the minibar by josé andrés, which serves the chef’s specialties in an intimate setting.

Here in Spain, he is known as the host of the TVE program Let’s Cook. In the U.S., he is the host and producer of José Made in Spain, a 26-episode PBS television series that focuses on the food and culture of Spain. Throughout his expansive career, he has received numerous awards and has appeared in various media outlets.

What’s more, we’ve got the invaluable support of Rubén García, José Andrés’ right-hand man. Rubén provides menu suggestions, quality control, and works with promotions and events.

The menu that José has created for us will combine traditional Spanish culinary art with the innovation of the nouvelle cuisine. It will hint at typical American cuisine and also the unique tastes of chef Ferrán Adriá, who was José’s mentor. We are certain that the food will please even the most discerning of palates, and that you will find the evening most enjoyable. We’ve designed this special menu for you, our future dinner party guests, so that you may get a sneak peek at the evening’s offerings and learn about the nutritional information and ingredients of the dishes you will soon enjoy.

And what of the recipes? For now, we’re keeping those a secret, but we can assure you it's going to be something unforgettable for every one!

Comic Strip

Who said Decathletes don't have a sense of humor! Check out this week's comic strip:

If you want to see all of our comic strips and find more information related to the TeamSPAIN B&W House project, subscribe to our Newsletter at: http://www.solardecathlon.upm.es/

Latest TeamSPAIN meeting

Hello there!

We've just had a really important meeting concerning safety procedures and contest strategies. The conclusions that were reached at this meeting are totally confidential, so we've had to modify the image to preserve the confidentiality of the meeting.

By the way: these meetings are now taking place twice a week! We've pumped up security in case you were thinking of sending in your spies :)

TeamSPAIN Goes for the Oscar

Hi Everyone,

We have just finished the storyboard for our "House Tour Video." Some of us will be acting, others directing and producing, so this will be a fun experience for us. It'll also give us a bit of a break from the measurements, deliveries, and finishing touches that we've been putting on The B&W House.

We've got very refined cinematographic tastes, so we're very picky about who we will allow to direct our video, though here's two candidates who may be up for the job:



Yeah, we wish...

More from us soon!

TeamSPAIN

TeamSPAIN Speaks English

Today we implemented a new rule at TeamSPAIN. Everyone is speaking English from July 1st. Coincidentally, today is the first of July and we Spaniards are warming up for our participation at the competition in Washington by forgetting our mother tongue.



I'm sure you're aware of how much fun we're having with this initiative :-) And no, we are not uploading any MP3's of the experience, though we might be persuaded to prepare a video...

TeamSPAIN