What is RoofKIT?

The construction industry is responsible for almost 40% of global CO2 emissions. Raw materials and undeveloped land are in limited supply, and the sun is the only energy source that can be used without limit.
A huge, overlooked potential of building land and areas for energy production is located directly above our heads: on the roofs of the city. The addition of new storeys to existing roof areas points the way to a new social coexistence. In addition, the existing buildings are upgraded programmatically and functionally.

With its contribution to the international student competition “Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22”, the RoofKIT team proves that the implementation of sustainable architecture, which saves space and resources, collects energy and develops visions for living together in the city, is already possible today and also with the inclusion of existing buildings.

What is the Solar Decathlon Europe?

The Solar Decathlon Europe is an architectural competition for students held within the framework of a European vision of sustainability, energy efficiency and responsible resource management. Following the motto “Design-Build-Operate”, student teams from around the world compete not only with their ideas, but also with a demonstration building they have designed and actually built.

For the first time, the Solar Decathlon Europe will take place in Germany – in Wuppertal – in June 2022. A total of 18 international teams of students and teachers will take part in this edition of the competition. The work of all teams will be exhibited in Wuppertal and the full-size demonstration buildings can be visited on the so-called “Solar Campus”. The results of all teams will be evaluated in ten disciplines to determine an overall winner.

New to this edition of the Solar Decathlon Europe is that the task is divided into an overall design (the so-called Design Challenge) and the development of the smaller demonstration buildings (the so-called Building Challenge). The overall design comprises a holistic consideration of a real building situation including existing buildings and residential areas, the demonstration building is to be seen as an exemplary implementation of a section of the overall design.

Overall design – The Design Challenge

The overall design envisages the addition of a new storey to the “Café Ada” in Wuppertal’s Mirker district.
In order to be able to build the extension, the existing sawtooth roof will be removed and recyclable parts will be reinstalled in the new part of the building. The use of prefabricated wooden modules – for walls and ceilings, for example – enables simple and fast assembly on site. The characteristic shape of the sawtooth roof will be reincorporated into the addition to reference the site’s industrial past and mark a prominent attraction in the district.
A glass joint – the so-called “urban gap” – is formed between the existing building and the new addition, mediating between the existing and new buildings and expressing a welcoming gesture.
The louvers of the facade and the roof surfaces are used for solar energy generation.

1:1 House Demonstration Unit (HDU)

The House Demonstration Unit reflects the most striking features of the architecture of the overall design at the Solar Campus in Wuppertal and gives an impression of the project at full scale. It is fully usable at the same time.
During its time in Wuppertal, various events and guided tours will take place there as part of the Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 program.
After the end of the competition, the demonstration building will be transferred to Karlsruhe and rebuilt on the KIT campus.

The SDE21 project kicks-off with this Call for Teams, builds up to the SDE21 Event scheduled for September 2021, and finalises in parallel to the Disassembly phase. After Team selection at the end of 2019, the Teams have nearly two years to design, plan and build their projects. Within these two years several workshops and events are planned to inspire and support the Teams. In the aftermath of the Competition the SDE21 Campus will transition into a Living Lab that continues the research on a selected number of Demonstation Units kept on site in full operation.