We are a multidisciplinary University Team which is competing at Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018 edition with the objective of designing and building in two years, from October 2016 to October 2018, a full-scale prototype of the best and most attractive sustainable, zero energy, and smart solar house. The Team is composed by undergraduate, PhDs, and Master's students and professors from the three
Faculties of Architecture, of Civil and Industrial Engineering and of Political Sciences, Sociology, and Communication of SAPIENZA University of Rome, one of the oldest universities in the world, the largest University in Europe and a top performer in international university rankings. Our project, ReStart4Smart, has the overall objective of taking on the new challenges of contemporary society that require a different way of designing, constructing, operating and upgrading buildings in which we live. Sapienza '4Smart solar house prototype' will be built in Italy at the CEFME-CTP Center in Pomezia (RM) and will be disassembled, transported and reassembled in Dubai at the competition site, where it will remain on display one month to be visited by the public and evaluated by the jury (October-November 2018). The aspects evaluated and scored by the jury (10 contests) will cover: architecture, building system, energy consumption, interior comfort, functionality of equipment, electric mobility, environmental sustainability, use of vegetation, marketing and communication, technology innovation. Compared to the current state of the art, the project is expected to deeply affect many aspects, regarding the building design tools, the building construction method, the building envelope, the building equipment systems and the building users' behavior. Both during construction and after the competition, the home prototype will act as a permanent laboratory open to the public for education and training on sustainable architecture and integration of renewable energy sources in buildings. Dissemination tours are planned to display the house in Fairs / International Conferences.
