Abstract
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Solar Decathlon Records (2013-2021) are comprised of records documenting the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's participation in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon collegiate competition. The collection includes records created by the 2013, 2017, and 2020 UNLV teams (Team Las Vegas) in designing and building their respective competition entries: DesertSol, Sinatra Living, and Mojave Bloom. Records include competition application files, working project files, As-Built submittal packets, and promotional and marketing files for the competition. The majority of records in this collection represent the 2017 competition. Archived websites and social media accounts associated with Team Las Vegas and the Solar Decathlon competition are also included in the collection. The records document Team Las Vegas's efforts in designing and building energy efficient homes for the Solar Decathlon competition.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Solar Decathlon Records (2013-2021) are comprised of records documenting the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's participation in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon collegiate competition. The collection includes records created by the 2013, 2017, and 2020 UNLV teams (Team Las Vegas) in designing and building their respective competition entries: DesertSol, Sinatra Living, and Mojave Bloom. Records include competition application files, working project files, As-Built submittal packets, and promotional and marketing files for the competition. The majority of records in this collection represent the 2017 competition. Archived websites and social media accounts associated with Team Las Vegas and the Solar Decathlon competition are also included in the collection. The records document Team Las Vegas's efforts in designing and building energy efficient homes for the Solar Decathlon competition.
Access Note
Collection is open for research via the UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives. Portions of the collection are digital and available online through Archive-It. Advance notice and arrangements are required for access to digital files that are not online; please
contact Special Collections and Archives for more information.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into three series:
I. DesertSol, 2013;
II. Sinatra Living, 2015-2017;
III. Mojave Bloom, 2018-2021.
Biographical / Historical Note
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition comprised of ten contests that challenge student teams from all over the world to design and build full-size, solar-powered homes. The competition aims to provide students with training that prepares them for the clean energy workforce and to educate the public about the latest technologies and materials in energy efficient design. The Solar Decathlon includes two challenges. In the Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, teams create residential or commercial designs over one or two academic semesters. For the Solar Decathlon Build Challenge, teams spend two years designing and building fully functional homes. Since its inception, over 150 multidisciplinary collegiate teams have participated in the competition.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) participated in the Solar Decathlon Build challenge for the first time in 2013. Their entry, DesertSol, was designed as an energy efficient vacation home. The UNLV Solar Decathlon team placed in the top three in the overall competition and were the top team from the United States. As of 2018, DesertSol is on display as a permanent exhibit at the Springs Preserve (Las Vegas, Nevada), a 180-acre cultural institution designed to commemorate Las Vegas's history.
For the 2017 competition, Team Las Vegas designed and built Sinatra Living, an energy efficient home designed specifically for the aging population. The solar accessible home included features like an ADA compliant bathroom and adjustable kitchen countertop. The 2017 UNLV Solar Decathlon team won first place in the Innovation contest. As of 2018 Sinatra Living is located in Southern Nevada.
For the 2020 competition, Team Las Vegas designed and constructed Mojave Bloom, as a therapeutic home specifically designed for military veterans who may have post-traumatic stress disorder or other physical limitations due to their military services. Team Las Vegas placed third overall in the competition and took first place in the operations and presentations contests.
Sources:
Stan Hanel, "UNLV students build ‘Sinatra Living’ home,"
Keyonna Summers, "UNLV Takes Third in International Solar Decathlon Build Competition,"
"DesertSol," Springs Preserve, Accessed December 21, 2020, https://www.springspreserve.org/explore/desertsol.html.
"Solar Decathlon," U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, Accessed December 21, 2020, https://www.solardecathlon.gov/.
Preferred Citation
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Solar Decathlon Records, 2013-2021. UA-00075. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were transferred to the University Archives in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021 by the UNLV Solar Decathlon project team; accession numbers 2017-150, 2018-007, 2020-033, 2020-066, and 2021-078.
Processing Note
The collection files were transferred from Google Drive in 2018 by Tammi Kim and A. L. Carson. Physical materials were foldered and described. Websites were captured, preserved, and managed using Archive-It, a web archiving subscription service. In 2020, Tammi Kim updated the finding aid in ArchivesSpace with information on the 2020 accessions. In 2021, Tammi Kim minimally processed the 2021 addition and updated the finding aid.