Our Mission
About Us
One Passion, Three Teams
We are an interdisciplinary group of undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley with a shared passion for sustainability in the built environment. SHAC is the result of a merger between the Solar Decathlon team and Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) and its newest branch SHAC Consulting.
Solar Decathlon
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that inspires student teams to design and build highly efficient buildings powered by renewables, while optimizing for key considerations including affordability, resilience, and occupant health.
SHAC Consulting
Aims to synthesize SD and THIMBY’s work to create cohesion in the organization. Robust research of SHAC precedent and industry best-practices coupled with hands-on client partnership experience aim to deliver tools and projects accelerating the process of scaling sustainable and just homes.
THIMBY
Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) originally began as a band of graduate students who entered and won second place in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Tiny House Competition in Fall 2016. The Tiny, Living Lab aimed to design and build a net-zero energy, off-grid tiny house that represents a frontier for energy and water efficient residential construction.
What We Believe In
Energy
We utilize sustainable systems and technologies, including solar panels, behavior-adaptive electrical systems, greywater filtration, high-performing insulation materials, and energy usage tracking sensors.
Accessibility
We aim to democratize environmentally sustainable technology and affordable housing through education, community engagement, and partnerships with local businesses and nonprofits.
Scalability
We hope to create models that are scalable and cost-effective through modular development processes that compound our social and environment impact towards green living and sustainable design practices.
Education
We train our members in all disciplines from architecture, engineering, social policy, to urban planning, providing an interdisciplinary perspective to approaching real world issues, not limited to housing.
Thank you to our sponsors!
SHAC is an interdisciplinary group of undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley with a shared passion for sustainability in the built environment.
Sustainable Housing at Cal © 2022