I will be at the Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 tomorrow, supporting the Canopea project which has integrated DualSun's hybrid solar panels onto their "nanotowers".

The Solar Decathlon is an international competition among universities from around the world to promote research in the development of efficient houses with a specific focus on the use of solar energy.  Each of the 20 selected teams is evaluated by a jury on the basis of 10 contents (hence "decathlon") and the team with the most points at the end will be the winner.  The event is taking place from September 17 - 28 during which the teams construct their designs on-site.

The Canopea concept is designed to combine the efficiency of urban design (public transport, shared and centralized systems) and the quality of private home living (proximity to nature, intimacy), by transposing sprawling individual houses into vertical "nanotowers" that allow people to live "together but separately".

 

I will report back after the event but in the meantime, here are some images to give you an idea of the Canopea concept.  Also, check out Inhabitat for some excellent updates on the Solar Decathlon.