I recently watched a documentary about the final entries in the X Prize vehicle competition. The competition put up 10 Million Dollars for the team that could design the best vehicles in a series of different categories that would both live up to conventional standards for safety and speed, but also exceed a baseline of 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe). The prize excited and inspired inventors, millionaires, scientists and high school students all over the world to have a go at creating the next vehicles that could transform transportation.

While I was watching the documentary I was awed by the reach of the competition. There were literally teams from all over the world who had invested time and resources in participating. There were a number of legitimate vehicles that looked like they were almost ready for production (in fact one was already on the consumer market) and others that were something out of the pages of Popular Mechanics. Team structures varied from large teams of well funded innovators to individual inventors who had sweated this entire competition on their own. There was even an amazing team of high school students who made it to the final rounds.

Watching the final trials of these vehicles I realized that the design and construction industry has nothing like this. We have interesting design competitions where we imagine buildings and draw pictures, or build models to demonstrate our ideas. Occasionally there will be a competition that looks for innovation in materials or building systems, but those are typically run by industry supporters looking for ways to extend the reach of their specific products. We have new titles for our buildings using sustainable design criteria of LEED Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum but really we still don’t know what that all means.

Probably the best competition that exists within the design and construction industry is the Solar Decathlon. This national collegiate competition challenges teams to build a solar paneled home which meets energy criteria and marketability standards, with the hopes of inspiring homebuilders. While the competition has produced some amazing results over the years, it is focused on a narrow niche within a massive marketplace.

The X Prize for Vehicles did more than place a fat purse within reach and tell the industry to come and get it. It set new standards for how vehicles are tested and categorized. The relatively simple issue of measuring fuel efficiency became one of the most complex problems to solve when you open the door to any type of fuel in any type of engine. The X Prize team solved that problem by standardizing MPGe or Miles Per Gallon Equivalent and providing the baseline formulas for conversion from one fuel to another. This critical step made the competition accessible not just to the gear heads who were interested, but to the lay person who doesn’t understand why a car should look like a tear drop.

The competition did not ignore issues of vehicle safety, road worthiness or marketability. Finalists were put through a battery of tests to confirm that their inventions would ultimately be safe and effective on today’s roadways.

The architectural practice needs something like this to excite the industry about energy efficiency and resource management. The work that industry leaders have done to bring attention to the issues of sustainability is important and admirable, but we have only been tinkering with the toys that are already in our play chest. In order to change an industry we need to blow the doors off of standard expectations and set the bar higher than we thought we could reach.

Imagine if there was an X Prize type contest for a zero footprint structure. The contest could be broken into categories for residential structures, commercial structures and innovators allowing both a more traditional approach and experimental design.

But Zero footprint! How would we define that? I think if we focused on three key issues we might be able to get close to a definition. The contest would need to leave out the building site in order to create a level playing field. My suggestion is that the Zero footprint would mean that the design might meet the following criteria:

Materials used have a zero impact equivalent on nature. They would have to be obtained, manufactured and transported in such a way where they did not produce CO2 emissions, destroy native habitats or reduce and inhibit existing eco-structures. There would need to be ways to allow for offsets to this standard and measure it consistently.

The building would need to have a zero energy footprint. It must be 100% off the grid or produce enough energy to replenish whatever it uses from the grid.

The final structure must also be designed and built in such a way where it could be demolished without natural impacts. The native land it starts on must be returned to a native state and the materials uses could be repurposed, or recycled.

Teams that participate would have to submit designs for a first round of review. Then designs that survive the first round would need to be built and tested. The testing should review energy efficiency, thermal loss, and other key measures but should also include more intangible reviews for aesthetics and livability. Perhaps the residential teams would be required to live in their structure for the duration of the contest?

Imagine what that criterion implies. How would you design and build a foundation for a site that must be returned to a native state? How can we produce and transport key building materials without producing CO2 or offsetting it effectively? What amenities can we sacrifice or reinvent to achieve higher levels of energy efficiency?

For many of us these criteria may seem unattainable, but ultimately that is the point. We need to reach for things that we previously didn’t think could be achieved. I never thought I would see a day where I could drive 100 miles on the equivalent of a single gallon of gas, or better yet no gas at all, but it seems that day is attainable.

Regardless of the results the act of building and testing small structures provides both a showcase of innovation and new rigor in the prototyping of buildings. Similar to the solar decathlon in Washington DC, the X Prize could be an event that pulls both industry and the public together. The ultimate prize is to inspire an industry to change.

Imagine if we could build like this and still create a commercially viable structure. This is where a contest like the X Prize comes in. There have been many opportunities to explore innovations in building design, but typically these innovations are very limited. By setting the bar very high, removing standard industry constraints and offering a fantastic prize the X Prize is a catalyst for new ideas and opportunities to flourish.

But it doesn’t just create innovations and opportunities, it sets a new bar. The act of defining a Zero Footprint building or MPGe for vehicles like any new measures in sustainability and efficiency helps both the industry and individual understand the problems that we face. It becomes an educational tool that informs all of us who have only ever filled their car with gas or defined their building by square footage that these standards can only tell part of the story. For too long we have kept our heads in the sand about how much we use or burn or waste. Competitions like this help to open our eyes not just to the potential solutions but to the real problems as well.

For more on the X Prize and the Solar Decathlon check out these links.

X-Prize
http://www.xprize.org/x-prizes/overview

Solar Decathlon
http://www.solardecathlon.gov/

About the Author
Ralph Walker is an architect in New Jersey. He has focused his career on sustainable design and educational design project around the country. Ralph's work and writing on sustainability and educational design have been widely published and his design work has received numerous awards. He can be reached at RWalker12813@gmail.com.