Meet the next generation of Pritzker winners  Posting in
Architecture  MADRID -- Part 1 of 2: Check out the homes of the
future -- solar, foldable, breathable, and one with nature -- at
the 2012 Solar Decathlon.  MADRID -- What began in 1999 as a
competition among the United States' top university minds to
raise awareness of solar energies has become a hardcore
international race to build the most self-sustaining home.  The
biannual European Solar Decathlon is the perfect blend of blue
and white collars as teams of architectural, engineering and
design students spend two years planning before they have to put
down their pencils and CAD software and pick up hammers, as they
build and then rebuild their homes of the future.  Each house is
under 200 meters squared, with a minimum of 1.2-meter spaces for
wheelchair accessibility. Each must be entirely self-sustained
on solar energy, which is easy on these cloudless Madrid days.
Not only must the house be heated or cooled and the lights work,
but all creature comf