trtl is being blessed by the former chief of the piikani nation dr. reg crowshoe, through 4 ceremonies preceding the competition. the traditional ceremonies have resulted in the project’s blackfoot name—spo’pi—which means turtle, and translates directly into ‘lives on stilts’ (very fitting given the competition and final foundation design strategies).the 1000 square-foot house is currently being built on the university of calgary campus before it is disassembled and shipped to the national mall in washington d.c. and put on display for the competition (september 23-october 2, 2011), which attracts upwards of 150,000 visitors and widespread media attention.

the cenovus trtl is the university of calgary’s second entry in the solar decathlon, following the 6th place finish of the award-winning solabode in 2009. canada’s team includes a collaboration of of students from the university of calgary’s faculty of environmental design, the schulich school of engineering and the haskayne school of business, as well as a native cultural advisory council, and a steering committee. over 100 individuals have come together to make the vision of trtl a reality.

looking to keep track of team canada?

for access to the entire archive of the university of calgary’s solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page