Gateway Decathlon
Teams compete in a sustainable housing challenge, showcasing innovative design and technology across 10 diverse contests, emphasizing functionality, market viability, and ecological impact.
The Gateway Decathlon (GWD) is a competition set to take place in October 2025 in St. Louis, Missouri. It's designed to showcase innovative designs and technologies in the realm of sustainable off-site housing. The competition consists of 10 distinct contests, each with separate scoring criteria. Teams participating in the GWD are challenged to create dwelling units that are evaluated across a variety of performance and design criteria. Each contest is worth 100 points, making a total of 1000 points available. The team with the highest cumulative score at the end of the contest period wins the competition.
Overview of the Event:
Location: St. Louis, Missouri.
Date: October 2025.
Participants: Teams, each receiving a $100,000 "seed money" to start their project.
Objective: To showcase innovative designs and technologies that promote sustainable off-site housing.
Contests & Criteria:
Design (100 points): Evaluates the holistic design of the dwelling unit, focusing on aspects like site integration, building design, interior design, and the integration of renewable energy technologies.
Engineering & Construction (100 points): Focuses on the engineering and construction design and implementation, emphasizing off-site methodologies and assembly/disassembly processes.
Materials & Supply Chain (100 points): Assesses the use of sustainable materials, the mitigation of harmful products, and the management of the supply chain.
Livability (100 points): Evaluates the dwelling unit's design in terms of universal design, working from home, space flexibility, and overall well-being.
Innovation (100 points): Judges the capacity to go beyond existing boundaries in designing materials, products, or processes that are innovative and add value or enhance the performance of the dwelling unit.
Energy Performance (100 points): Addresses the real energy performance of the dwelling unit and its renewable power systems. The lower the HERS Index, the better the score.
Water Optimization (100 points): Focuses on the dwelling unit's water usage efficiency and its ability to recycle and reuse water.
Dwelling Functionality (100 points): Involves the inspection and testing of different facets of each dwelling unit to ensure that they function as intended and are installed according to the construction documents.
Market Viability (100 points): Assesses the project's affordability and viability in a real-life socio-economic scenario and housing market.
Communications (100 points): Evaluates each team’s capacity to promote their skills, ideas, and designs through compelling communications and marketing strategies.
Judging Metrics:
Jury Evaluations: Points are awarded based on evaluations by juries of subject-matter experts.
Performance-Based Ratings: Points are awarded based on the performance of the dwelling units as measured against predefined criteria.
Verification of Equipment Functionality: Points are awarded based on the functionality of the dwelling unit's systems, equipment, appliances, and electronics.
Awards: Acknowledge exceptional performance in specific contests and overall competition.
The GWD is a comprehensive competition that encourages innovation, sustainability, and practicality in the design and construction industry, aiming to lead a global transformation toward more efficient and sustainable housing solutions.
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