In the autumn of 2011, twenty futuristic, energy-efficient, solar-powered homes will be showcased on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. One of those will be the extraordinary design of Team Hawaii, a collaborative group of students, administration, and faculty from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Architecture, College of Engineering, and Shidler College of Business, and Honolulu Community College. They were chosen from an international field of university groups to be one of the 20 finalists for The Solar Decathlon, a project of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), organized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The challenge? To design, build, and operate the most affordable, attractive, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

Check out Team Hawaii's Hale Pilihonua! Designed to be an affordable housing solution for middle-income home buyers, Team Hawaii's house pushes the envelope of sustainable design.