The Parsons New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology partnered with Habitat for Humanity to create their Empowerhouse, which tied with Purdue's entry for first place in the affordability contest. Lakiya Culley, above, will be the home's new owner after the Decathlon is over.

Inspired by traditional Appalachian settlements, Appalachian State's Solar Homestead consists of six separate outbuildings that connect around a "Great Porch." It also features a Trombe wall that stores heat throughout the day and releases it at night.

Students at the University of Calgary modeled their Technological Residence, Traditional Living house after the tipis of South Alberta's native tribes. Materials and color palettes throughout the house reflect indigenous art and respect for nature. (Note all the groovy symbols on the ceiling.)

Florida International University's perform[D]ance House is designed for volatile Sunshine State weather, with a reflective white exterior, bio-remediating beds that treat storm water, and louvers that can be raised or lowered to let that famous sunshine in or keep hurricane winds out.

In addition to resisting damage from termites and corrosion -- common problems in a tropical climate -- Hale Pilihonua, from the University of Hawaii, is designed to be buoyant enough to float in case of a flood. The name, in Hawaiian, apparently means "a built structure connecting earth and land."

The University of Illinois team designed Re_home as a housing solution for families affected by natural disasters. It's like a luxurious FEMA trailer -- no doubt without all the formaldehyde.

The University of Maryland's WaterShed has a green roof and comes with a constructed wetland that filters grey water from the shower, dishwasher, and other household appliances. It's also designed to be a live/work space, so its inhabitants don't contribute to D.C. congestion. And this just in: It scored first place in the architectural design category.

Self-reliance, the entry from Middlebury College, features a gabled roof in a nod to traditional New England architecture. After the Decathlon it will become a student residence on Middlebury's Vermont campus. Its green wall, where inhabitants can grow their own produce, aims to encourage local, sustainable eating.

Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand named its entry First Light because morning sun hits New Zealand first each day. The only entry from the Southern Hemisphere, First Light also reps its mystical island home by using recycled sheep's wool as insulation. (Um, isn't all sheep's wool recycled?)

Ohio State University's enCORE has living spaces arranged around a central core that houses its plumbing and mechanical systems. It's intended to be placed in a low-income neighborhood in Columbus, where its efficient features will cut back on those monthly heating/cooling and electricity bills.

INhome stands for Indiana Home, because the entry from Purdue University is designed to fit in as part of an average Indiana neighborhood. This eco-shack in disguise features a self-watering biowall that improves air quality and a pump that heats water using ambient air inside the house. INhome tied with Parsons' entry for first in the affordability contest.

The Southern California Institute of Architecture and the California Institute of Technology teamed up to create an antidote the problems of high property costs and urban sprawl in the state. CHIP features flexible openings that can expand living areas, and, true to its CIT origins, comes with an iPad app.

The E-Cube, from Ghent University in Belgium, is designed for easy assembly, with a bolt-less system holding it together, "plug-and-play" electrical wiring, and a flexible, easily expanded floor plan.

The team from Tongji University in China raised the bar on shipping container living with this one, building in a natural ventilation tunnel down the middle.

Four different Florida schools teamed up to create the Flex House, which opens up during mild months and closes down in more extreme weather to regulate temperature more efficiently.

Team Massachusetts designed the 4D Home to accommodate a growing family. Residents can reconfigure its layout to meet their changing needs by sliding walls back and forth. Team members designed and created its housewares and décor, too.

The ENJOY House is designed with a retired couple in mind. The team from Rutgers and the New Jersey Institute of Technology made sure it is ADA-accessible, and constructed it with pre-cast concrete panels that require little upkeep. Energy recovery ventilators cool the house with fresh air from outside.

City College of New York created their Solar Roofpod to take advantage of underused urban rooftop space -- it forms a "symbiotic relationship" with its host building.

The University of Tennessee team wanted Living Light to be an homage to Tennessee past and present, with a design inspired by southern Appalachia's iconic cantilever barns but embracing a more technological aesthetic. Blinds sandwiched between alternating panes of transparent and translucent glass provide light and shade.

Old Dominion University and Hampton University imagined their entry, Unit 6 Unplugged, as part of a six-unit multifamily building where families could share infrastructure costs. Designed to blend into urban neighborhoods, the house includes a transformable porch that can be open-air or enclosed.