RHOME, A HOME FOR ROME – SOLAR DECATHLON EUROPE 2014

Students, researchers and instructors in three different departments at Roma TRE University (Architecture, Economics and Engineering) make up an all-Italian team which has already been active for a number of years in the field of research into accessible, sober living solutions guaranteeing high energy efficiency.

The “RhOME for denCity” team is the only Italian university team to have been admitted to and participated in the international “Solar Decathlon Europe” for the past ten years: a sort of Olympics of sustainable architecture, with the participation of 20 selected teams from universities all over the world.

In the upcoming edition, with the support of CIAL – Italy’s National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Aluminium – the team from Rome will be presenting its “Rhome – a home for Rome” project: an attempt to solve the housing problem in the hinterland of the city of Rome with urban redevelopment of two separate areas in the city representing two different typical traits of big Italian cities.

• The first case study is “suburban” Rome, where the beauty of the city’s ancient ruins and archaeological sites is marred by illegally constructed buildings without building permits.
• The second case study concerns abandoned railway lines, which may be found in the centre of many Italian cities.

Passive energy conservation systems, use of natural renewable materials, reuse and recycling are the keys to the project. The two new districts will incorporate models of sustainable mobility, wastewater treatment systems, energy generation and distribution systems, and waste collection and treatment facilities.

The ambitious project will be presented in the competition in Versailles (France), where this year’s Solar Decathlon Europe will be held, with the participation of the CIAL Consortium to promote use of recycled aluminium in a number of building components for storing heat to improve energy performance.

Last year CIAL supported the “RhOME for denCity” team’s participation in Solar Decathlon Europe, helping the Roman university build its prototype home, which won a number of awards: 1^st place for Sustainability, 2^nd place for Functioning, and 3^rd place for Architecture, Communication, Innovation and Energy Balance.