Refract house transforms vision of sustainable building

After months of construction and hard work on Refract House, students tore it all down after a Sept. 1 campus unveiling of the energy-efficient, solar-powered house. The house, carted cross country on several flatbed trucks, will be reassembled for the U.S. Department of Energy's 2009 Solar Decathalon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., held Oct. 8-16. After a surprising third place finish in the 2007 competition, Santa Clara students partnered with California College of the Arts to design and build the 800-square-foot house. Team California will compete against 19 other university teams.