Since we have been back in Charleston, we have had a few days to reflect on our experience with the Solar Decathlon build and keep up with their progress via the live webcam. One observation that I found very important to the success of Indigo Pine, was how easy it was to collaborate on the build. The Studio V crew had very limited knowledge as to the plans and structure of Indigo Pine. Our knowledge was based on the Crop Stop 2 build back in February which fortunately gave us a basic understanding of the Sim-ply construction method. I think it is pretty astonishing how with such basic knowledge, our team was able to seamlessly jump right in to whatever task the Solar Decathlon studio needed us to do. This speaks volumes to the development of the Sim-ply framing system and how unskilled laborers are able to build this house. In addition to the seamless collaboration, it is important to reflect on the lessons learned each day from set back and triumphs. Each day was filled with both victories and complications, but the amount of knowledge gained through this build will be a tremendous help for the actual build in California of Indigo Pine West. We heard time and time again that “with each piece we lay we learn more and more about the system” which can be taken with us into the next build. The goal is to get phase 1 of Indigo Pine East completed today, so check out the webcam to watch the progress.
On another note, Crop Stop 1 is becoming quite the talk around town so check out this news article to see what its all about.