June 2012

On June the 15th, the Counter Entropy Team invited many guests in order to celebrate the topping out ceremony, for the first time presenting the House in front of public audience.

Note of thanks

The ceremony’s programme was introduced by a speech of Univ.-Prof. Peter Russell, team coach and person responsible for the university’s deputation. He thanked all the persons supporting the team. This request was addressed especially to the RWTH’s administration, which assured a straightforward cooperation, and the research centre in Jülich, which provided the hall for the first trial assembling.

Many parts of a puzzle

In the context of the sequence of events, Univ.-Prof. Martin Trautz, Decane of the chair for architecture, congratulated the team for the shell’s successful finishing as a significant milestone considering the building phase and the competition in general.

The extensive project, realized by the motivated and committed students, needed an intense support since its starting, which was for instance furnished by the federal ministry of economics and technology. Especially the carpentry Knoben from Heinsberg gave the team a leg up by firstly supplying space for constructing a large proportion of the shell and secondly by being a guiding spirit in terms of technical know-how. So, Martin Knoben, the owner of the carpentry, held a speech in which he appreciated the enormous willingness in working on the party of the students.

Furthermore, the morning’s event contained contributions of Univ.-Prof. Dirk Müller, custody of the building’s technology and René Lierschaft, deputy of the student’s initiative.

The subsequently presenting of the house was accompanied by several exhibitions. The guests grabbed the opportunity to gain information about the photovoltaic modules with integrated cooling system by water spraying, which is getting saved at cold nights. Additionally they had the chance to inform about the unique facade modules, that were developed autonomously by the team and that are used as weatherproofing facade. Another central aspect of the guests’ interest constituted of the exemplary gestures control with a feedback over beamer, which simulates the skeletal tracking. The gestures control is a part of the building’s automation and enables for instance the lightning steering. Even the manufacturing designer of the Universitiy of Applied Sciences and Arts in Aachen took part in the celebration by exposed their craftsmanship.

A muscial highlight

The ceremony’s highlight was the live performance by the Bentropy. The band was dressed in a complete building site uniform and cared with the aid of a collection Rock- and Pop songs taken from the actual and the 90s Charts for a great mood.

All in all, it has been a successful event for the team because they were able to fill the audience with enthusiasm, and at the same time had the chance to thank all the sponsors and supporters personally. Besides, the central theme of the Solar Decathlon Europe, a simultaneously sustainable and fastidiously designed building art by the use of solar energy, could be spread.

This video is just available in german.