Solar Decathlon: The Germans

Sadly the German house won the Solar Decathlon. The lines were huge, the house crowded, the engineering certainly unique, but I don't think they deserved first. Not for the stuff one could see anyway.

Here's a few pics of the inside. I'm sorry they're not better. The house was small and crowded so it was hard to get a good shot.

This is the bed. Instead of folding up into the wall or being up in a loft, like some previous years, it's recessed into the living room floor. The floor can be closed up on it during the day. Impossible to fall out of and a good use of space. However, I have enough trouble getting out of bed when I just have to swing my legs around. You want me to have to pull myself up off the floor too?

The description is gonna have to do the work here. The kitchen counter is level and a table fits over it. The table is on casters. The legs go around the counter and the table top just clears the sink and stove. You pull it out and swing it off to the side. It blocks that end of the kitchen but you now have counter space and cooking space. Also, it requires that you clean up properly so the table can be put away and the passage cleared when finished.
What you see here is the table pulled out about a foot so you can see under it.

There's already a stove, but I'm pretty sure this isn't a microwave. Not sure just what to call it. You can see me pushing a button. These buttons move a platform up and down. When up the platform is the bottom of a cooking box with a vent. All the waste heat gets pumped elsewhere. Instead of opening the front you just lower the bottom.