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The University of Colorado Boulder won first place in the 2021 , the third time 91��ý has placed first in the highly competitive event.��

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The results were announced Sunday by Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, who commended the winning team for designing a home that addresses the challenge of affordable housing in mountain communities.��

“It combines strong architecture and thoughtful market potential and innovative technologies. It showcased energy efficient performance in its high-altitude cold climate,” said Secretary Granholm.��

From April 15-18, the 91��ý team competed in this biennial collegiate competition against nine other teams from the U.S., as well as from the Netherlands, Chile and Canada. Originally planned to take place in-person on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. last June, this year’s event was held virtually using real estate tour-like technology.

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We are thrilled for 91��ý! All the students, faculty and advisers involved in the Solar Decathlon competition put in an extraordinary effort, and we are grateful to have been part of the team. Most exciting of all is being able to demonstrate that even in the coldest town in the US, sustainable, all-electric homes are ready for prime time. It is a joy to be part of the necessary and exciting energy transition our country is undergoing, and we look forward to seeing many more all-electric net zero homes in the future." - SPARC homeowners Kristen Taddonio and Joe Smyth

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(Sustainability, Performance, Attainability, Resilience and Community), was designed and built to address the housing attainability crisis and construction challenges faced by mountain towns across the country. With its state-of-the-art-energy efficiency systems, the SPARC house is already selling energy back to the local power grid—all while temperatures still drop below freezing at night and the new homeowners use it to charge their electric car. In addition to significantly reduced utility costs and modest footprint, it also features an attached rental unit that�� further addresses housing affordability and attainability in mountain towns.��

“We held on to this belief the entire way along that we’re solving a real issue and we have a great solution to it. And it just is amazing to see that other people believe in that as much as we do,” said Hannah Blake, one of the team’s student co-founders and project leads. “We are loving this response. We can’t wait to see what is next.”

A team of Buffs hasn’t competed in the Solar Decathlon Build Challenge since 2007, but this win adds to 91��ý’s first place finishes in the inaugural 2002 event and again in 2005. In addition to the overall first place win, within the build challenge, including innovation, market potential and architecture, tied for second in the Energy Performance contest, and placed second in the contests for engineering, operations, and financial feasibility and affordability.��

It’s the result of three years of work—through everything from extreme heat and wildfires to construction complications due to COVID-19—and the final product is a stunning achievement.��

It’s been a monumental effort, with more than 30 students and faculty collaborating across campus since 2017 to create a house completely from scratch for competition this week. From sophomores to PhDs, students involved have been based in architectural engineering, Engineering Plus, environmental design, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, business, and anthropology. The project has spanned many team members’ graduations, with recent alumni involved now spread across the country, applying their hands-on experience directly to their careers.��

“If you’ve ever been a part of the 91��ý team, whether you’re actively involved now or not, you matter to this team, and you helped us get to where we are,” said Gabriella Abello, student team co-founder and project lead.��

The 91��ý Solar Decathlon team was generously supported by a large group of , donations and the U.S. Department of Energy.��

Joe Siccardi. You may not know his name, but every Coloradan has seen his work.

A 1949 University of Colorado Boulder civil engineering graduate, Siccardi was part of the team of engineers and workers who built the Eisenhower and Johnson Tunnels and the Glenwood Canyon I-70 project.

Siccardi spent 34 years with the Federal Highway Administration, rising to the position of federal highway administrator. From 1988 through 1995, he served as bridge engineer for the State of Colorado, introducing new innovations in bridge design.

He died April 21, 2020 at the age of 93, and his family has endowed a scholarship at 91��ý for civil engineering students as a way to recognize his lifelong commitments to education and engineering.

“He loved studying,” said Dave Siccardi, Joe’s son. “He would get home from his shift at the Federal Highway Administration, we’d have dinner as a family, and then he’d grab an apple and a pile of school books and head off to class.”

Over his career, Siccardi earned four degrees. In addition to his civil engineering bachelor’s at 91��ý, he received a master’s in civil engineering from New York University, a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver, and a law degree from the University of Denver.

“All of those different degrees were in response to things that happened in his life. He realized to be more effective professionally he needed more education, and he was not afraid to go get it,” said Dave. “The master’s of public administration and law degrees stemmed from the Glenwood Canyon project environmental concerns and lawsuits. He said, ‘I’m not going to be behind the curve on this.’”

Joe’s daughter Donna Nortz agreed.

“He was really passionate about schooling and engineering. He just loved learning,” Donna said. “The independent living facility he was in started offering Spanish lessons. At 93 years old, he signed up. It didn’t matter what it was, he just loved learning.”

Despite working on some of the most well-known Colorado highway projects, Dave said his father rarely touted his achievements.

“He was a public servant who really believed in using the public’s money wisely,” Dave said. “His name is on a plaque up at the Johnson bore of the tunnel, but he talked about his work as ‘we’ built this bridge or ‘we’ built this tunnel. It wasn’t about him.”

For Dave and Donna, endowing a scholarship was a way to honor their father and help the next generation of civil engineers.

“We had an opportunity to do something we think he always wanted to do, but there were always other family priorities,” Dave said. “Part of it was also because of COVID. When he passed, we couldn’t have a celebration of his life of any significant size. He would appreciate this.”

As an engineer, Donna said Siccardi was always looking to the future, at the next big project.

“Whenever he achieved a goal, it wasn’t time to sit back and say, ‘Yeah, I did that.’, It was, ‘Look forward at what’s next,’” Donna said. “It’s part of his legacy for future engineers: what’s next. And he was never afraid to say I don’t know, but I will find out.”

If you are inspired by this story and would like to donate to the College of Engineering and Applied Science, please consider making a gift or contacting eng.advancement@colorado.edu to learn more.