The first volume in the Urgent Matters series, Trojan Goat: A Self-Sufficient House traces the design and construction of the University of Virginia’s whimsically named, award-winning entry in the 2002 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. John D. Quale, the architectural advisor and coordinator for the project, provides here a firsthand account of the creation of the 750 square-foot solar-powered house.

Aiming to make the remarkable achievements of the project better known, while highlighting potential future applications for the practice of architecture, Trojan Goat provides an exciting moment-to-moment documentary of the making of this environmentally friendly house. Designed and built by a team of students and faculty from the School of Architecture and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the house combines the use of sustainable materials with thoughtful design and technological innovation.

According to the received statistics, building use accounts for one-half of the total energy burnt each year in the United States, a greater amount by far than that consumed per annum by automobiles. Quale argues that, based on statistics such as these and the positive reception of Trojan Goat, there should be greater support for sustainable building practices in the United States, including an increase in design-build opportunities for students of architecture.