“We will land at Dubai international airport in 20 minutes” said the pilot. That was the moment I really felt…oh girl, after a year and half being involved within this amazing project, finally it is happening and I will be in Dubai for the Solar Decathlon Middle East in 20 minutes.

Being jetlagged and excited, today I was awake from 2:00 am. At 5:45 am, I joined the team for my first day at the construction site. On the way to the site I saw one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life. After getting to the site and seeing the Desert Rose again, I felt proud to be a part of this team. In the past three days, all floor, walls and the big Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) cage had been assembled. Now, as I am writing this blog, I am sure the roof is about to be finished by the afternoon shift who will continue to work into the night.

We had a visit from the Dubai branch of Daikin (one of our major sponsors). After talking with their representative about our HVAC system, I learned that seven other houses in the competition are using Daikin equipment, but our system has a unique design. Today, during a break in construction, I also toured the rest of the Solar Decathlon site and saw the other team’s houses. Young, motivated students were working hard within this harsh climate to create innovative designs for the future. It is all about passion, learning and making things happen, and I look forward to seeing the future that we build.

– Yeganeh Baghi, Innovations Coordinator