Sun, cranes and a team of Aussies in a different country brings back many memories for me. Memories I never thought I would have the opportunity to experience again. Luckily, almost three years ago after competing in the Solar Decathlon China 2013, I had the opportunity to make new memories in a new Solar Decathlon competition. Teaming up with Clayton and Tim, we embarked on an incredible journey that has brought us to today, day fifteen- the final day of assembly in the Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018.
The last two weeks has been a roller coaster that hasn’t stopped. We started fifteen days ago with nothing but a bare 20m squared site and 8 jam-packed shipping containers. Today we were proudly able to stand in front of the Desert Rose House with the competition organisers as we became the first team to complete all our competition and exhibition sign offs!
The last two weeks has been a mixture of emotions, from excitement to tiredness, to laughter and a couple of stressful moments. None of which compared to the build-up to today. As we continued to recover from the huge storm that came over site last night we started the day with many big tasks ahead. Our team got straight into it and started ticking off tasks nearing closer and closer to our final inspection. The day culminated with Clayton touring the team of organisers around the Desert Rose to secure final sign off. We all floated nervously around the house, trying to keep busy with our tasks but keeping an eye on the action. That is when we heard it on the radio “gather round team, we’re about to get signoff!” I have never seen our team assemble so quickly as they did tonight. Within seconds the living room was full and Edwin, the SDME competition manager, gave a lovely speech to our team congratulating our efforts and signed off on the Desert Rose House, announcing us as the first team to receive sign off, ready for the competition. With a bonus 10 points as a reward!
I was so happy I almost cried. After months and months of late nights, weekends and everything in between, we have finally done it! The Desert Rose House is fully assembled in the desert of Dubai, ready to compete against fourteen other teams from across the world. The next few weeks will be filled with more anticipation as we commence public exhibition and the competition period. We continue to prepare for the judging and contests and are super excited to finally check out the others team’s houses. We are neighbours after all!
It’s now time to show the world what the Aussies are made of! What incredible new memories to add to my collection!
– Emily Ryan, Operations Manager