On a recent morning at this training ground for a new breed of interior designers, a lesson in empathy came in the form of a badminton game.

Students from University of Nevada, Las Vegas traveled to Denver to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2017, where UNLV Team Las Vegas achieved a first-place ranking in the innovation part of the 10-event decathlon, awarded 98 points out of 100 points for that category.

The UNLV Solar Decathlon team shined bright in another international competition.

At the event, teams of college students from around the world design and build full-size, solar-powered houses, which are judged as a part of 10 contests that evaluate architecture, market potential, engineering, communications, innovation, water, health and comfort, appliances, home life, and the level of energy produced versus energy consumed. Each contest is worth 100 points for a possible total of 1,000 points.

UNLV’s Team Las Vegas won second place in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Engineering contest today for its Sinatra Living home, one of 10 contests taking place during the 10-day competition.

Students at UNLV took home a second-place prize in an international Solar Decathlon. The challenge: create a building that integrates solar and energy efficiency technologies seamlessly in the design.

The U.S. Department of Energy's 2017 Solar Decathlon has opened its doors to the public, and the anticipated results for the 10 different contests are rolling in. The biennial competition brings together passionate student teams across the U.S. and abroad who dedicate two years to building a full-scale, sustainably designed house.

For the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2017 Solar Decathlon competition, Team Vegas, from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, introduces Sinatra Living, a house designed for aging in place and withstanding desert climates while maintaining the intense solar power standards that the competition requires.

Most summer-break stories involve day club meanderings, close encounters of the inebriated kind and too much Netflix. But UNLV architecture and engineering majors Nasko Balaktchiev and Adam Betemedhin’s summer story will be about building a fully functional, 990-square-foot solar house.

Commissions, with their long lists of client requirements, don't always let architects experiment. Competitions, on the other hand, allow them to throw away the client briefs and create something game-changing. Now in its 11th year, Radical Innovation is a competition giving architecture firms -- and students -- the opportunity to put their own original twist on hospitality design.

When you go out of town, you usually need to buy a few nights at a hotel in addition to a plane, train, or bus ticket.

Brandan Siebrecht, a graduate architecture student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, wants to combine these components into one experience. He designed what he calls the "Hyperloop Hotel," a system that would feature a transit system and 13 hotels in different cities throughout the United States.

University of Nevada Las Vegas students from the colleges of engineering, architecture, hotel management, health sciences, fine arts and construction management will be competing in Solar Decathlon 2017 at Denver this fall to showcase their skills in designing an energy-efficient, solar-powered home that can actively support aging residents.