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For this year’s Solar Decathlon, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is returning to the National Mall with the Re_home, which offers a more sustainable housing solution for communities following a natural disaster.

It’s a tale of two universities with a vision for one historic city. Students from both Hampton and Old Dominion universities have joined forces to compete in the upcoming Energy Department Solar Decathlon with their entry, called Unit 6 Unplugged. At Tidewater Virginia, the students will unveil their vision for the future -- an energy-efficient house that captures the “Arts and Crafts” design style of homes dotted throughout historic Norfolk, Virginia.

Team Massachusetts is bringing a unique perspective to the Solar Decathlon this fall. You might say it is a fourth dimension because of the team’s newly constructed 4D Home. But it could also be argued that it is because the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and University of Massachusetts Lowell are collaborating for the team’s first entry into the biannual competition, and they’re both public institutions.

Read about Team Florida's 2011 Solar Decathlon house -- a design approach that combines efficiency and ingenuity to build a zero-energy home for the hot humid central Florida climate.

Team China is turning shipping containers into their 2011 Solar Deacthlon home design. Check it out!

The Ghent University 2011 Solar Decathlon Team -- aka Team Belgium -- is a unique two-story home that could very well be an international star at the competition due to the Belgium team’s innovative, ultra-efficient, passive home design.

The Solar Decathlon team from New Zealand is the first from the Southern Hemisphere to compete in the competition. Learn how they are using the "Kiwi bach" as inspiration for their design.

Check out the SCI-Arc/Caltech 2011 Solar Decathlon team's house to find out more about their net-zero energy use home -- the CHIP House.

Check out Purdue University's 2011 Solar Decathlon home -- the INhome, a "midwestern" take on the competition.

Team New Jersey's 2011 Solar Decathlon house is incorporating the age-old technology of concrete into their beach house design. How is this energy efficient? Read more to find out!

Self-Reliance: More than just a name for this 2011 Solar Decathlon team.

How is this 2011 Solar Decathlon unique? Try covering a roof entirely in thin film solar cells.