While many students meet their biggest challenge in the classroom, a team of more than 200 university students spent nearly two years developing and building an entirely self-sustainable house.

Students from various disciplines across the campus have worked almost nonstop designing and constructing WaterShed, this university's 2011 entry for the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon — the biennial national competition that challenges collegiate teams to design and build innovative solar-powered houses. The 20-team contest begins Friday on the National Mall.

WaterShed — a house that receives all of its electrical energy from the sun — boasts edible green walls, indoor waterfalls that act as climate control devices and a front yard comprised of wetlands. Because the house uses innovative features to conserve and produce resources, most notably water, the house functions as a self-sustaining ecosystem.

"The idea is the house is using natural systems to process water," architecture graduate student and team leader Kevin Vandeman said. "It shows how we're affecting the bay."

Although this university's entry in the 2007 competition took second place, this year's team members said they hope WaterShed is the house that wins the first-place prize.

"Every year we've competed in this competition, we've moved up," said senior civil engineering major and team leader Jay Chmilewski.

The house's sustainable features include a sloped green roof containing water-storing plants that absorb rainwater for reuse, filter airborne pollutants and insulate the roof. Its exterior is comprised of vertical green walls that provide shade in the summer and allow sunlight to stream in and warm the house in the winter.

"The level of thought that was put into the overall integration [of the house] has been really impressive," architecture graduate student and team leader Jeff Gipson said.

But the eco-friendly innovations are not only on the house's exterior. The interior showcases a wide-array of energy-efficient designs, such as two indoor waterfalls that control the house's temperature.

Although working on the house was stressful at times, seeing the final product stand alongside other competing homes made the last two years' hard work well worth it, Chmilewski said.

"There are definitely ups and downs, but looking at this house finally finished and complete is a really good feeling," Chmilewski said.

Gipson said the project posed a unique challenge for the students.

"Instead of having design ideas that stay on paper, they had to go from paper to reality while making sure they performed and we could afford it," Gipson said.

Brittany Williams, faculty advisor for communications and architecture, said the project allowed students from all majors — such as architecture, engineering and plant sciences — to collaborate together.

"Unlike most majors where they just focus only on courses within their major and don't interact with students from elsewhere, different students are all learning from each other," Williams said. "Everyone that has touched the project understands the principle and gets the same message about working."

Solar Decathlon director Richard King said repeatedly competing in the Solar Decathlon since it began in 2002 shows the university's commitment to a sustainable future both on and off the campus.

"Past, present and future schools that compete in the Solar Decathlon — including the University of Maryland, a four-time competitor — demonstrate a commitment to growing the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers in clean energy technology and efficient building design," King stated in an email sent from his press secretary.

Although the university has drastically increased sustainability efforts in recent years, Gipson said it is up to students to continue crafting innovative solutions to global environmental problems.

"We're the ones that are supposed to be out there pushing," he said.

saravia at umdbk dot com