Designers: Team Bosphorus from Turkey
Area: 140 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs: Hacer Bozkurt
Manufacturers: AutoDesk, AFS, Ahmet Demirel, Aldağ, Ansys Fluent, Arbor Ahşap Pencere, Beko, Carrier HAP, Daikin, Ege Kablo, Fibrobeton, Flow Design, Pekintas Schmid, Revit, Rhino, SBS Otomasyon, Sap2000, Serozan, SimaPro 9 LCA, TESCOM, +1
Lead Architects: Aslı Aldemir, Bekir Süleymanoğlu, Ilgın Yeşim Eldeş, Avni Yılmaz
Project Team: Team Bosphorus from Turkey, Team Bosphorus from Turkey
Client: Solar Decathlon Africa
Design Team: Mustafa Demirel Clients, Solar Decathlon Africa, Aslı Aldemir, Bekir Süleymanoğlu, Ilgın Yeşim Eldeş, Avni Yılmaz, Onur Yılmaz, Ceren Çakar, Ege Nurcan, Serhan Kaya, Cem Fırat, Esra Kıygın, Fatih Seymen, Ayşe Yılmaz, Mustafa Demirel
Consultants: Ruhi Kafesçioğlu, Özden Ağra, Murat Çakan, Muhammed Maraşlı, Süleyman Akım, Fatma Akım, Erden Güven, Murat Şanal, Dilek Yürük, Özgül Öztürk, Kerem Ercoşkun, Ebru Akkaya, Emine Can Güven, Neslihan Say, Ahmet Topbaş, Mustafa Kemal Sevindir, Alişan Gönül, Atalay Yıldırım
Engineering: İsmail Çelik, Tarık Ateşer, Recep Tuna, Ece Zeynep Kalyoncuoğlu, Seda Kundakçı, Ahmet Can Bölük, Özge Aslan, İrem Esen, Hamdi Ergök, Ali Uğur Tülüoğlu, Talha Öz, Batuhan Üzümcüoğlu, Merve Derinpınar, Erdem Akım, Ayşenur Uzaslan, Saniya Üstün, Berrak Ecem Ozan, Elif Nur Tepe, Rami Rafil Abdulwahhab Al-Samaraae, Merve Karamustafa, Derya Dikbıyık
Construction: İsmail Çelik, Tarık Ateşer, Recep Tuna, Ece Zeynep Kalyoncuoğlu, Seda Kundakçı, Ahmet Can Bölük, Özge Aslan, İrem Esen, Hamdi Ergök, Ali Uğur Tülüoğlu, Talha Öz, Batuhan Üzümcüoğlu, Merve Derinpınar, Erdem Akım, Ayşenur Uzaslan, Saniya Üstün, Berrak Ecem Ozan, Elif Nur Tepe, Rami Rafil Abdulwahhab Al-Samaraae, Merve Karamustafa, Derya Dikbıyık
City: Ben Guerir
Country: Morocco

ReYard House, designed by Team Bosphorus from Turkey, was created for the Africa edition of the Solar Decathlon competition. Comprising students and professors from İstanbul Technical University and Yildiz Technical University, the team won awards in Innovation, Engineering and Construction, and Communication and Social Awareness. The house’s modular, reusable design combines local materials with modern technology, such as microalgae, earning first place in Innovation. It also excelled in the Construction and Engineering category for its energy-efficient soil panels and wooden structure. Inspired by Turkish and Moroccan houses, ReYard features a climate-controlled courtyard with solar panels and a wooden canopy. The house uses rammed earth and wood walls with bamboo insulation, and its modular interior incorporates furniture made from waste materials. ReYard’s microalgae-based wastewater treatment system recycles 80% of wastewater for irrigation and produces organic fertilizers. The algae pond absorbs CO2 and produces oxygen, enhancing sustainability. The HVAC system, supported by a thermal solar setup, optimizes energy efficiency, reflecting the team’s focus on recycling and reusing materials throughout the project.

ReYard House / Team Bosphorus from Turkey

The ReYard House was designed and built by Team Bosphorus for the Africa edition of the international collegiate competition, ‘Solar Decathlon,’ focused on sustainable and energy-efficient buildings. Team Bosphorus, the first Turkish team to compete in the Solar Decathlon, comprises students and professors from two prominent Istanbul universities: İstanbul Technical University and Yildiz Technical University. The team earned awards in three categories: Innovation, Engineering and Construction, and Communication and Social Awareness.

The team secured first place in the “Innovation” category for its reusable, modular design that combines local materials with modern technology, including the use of microalgae in an architectural project. They also won first place in the “Construction and Engineering” category for their easily assembled soil panels, integrated with a wooden modular structure and sustainable, energy-efficient systems. Furthermore, Team Bosphorus earned the “Communication and Social Awareness” award for their extensive written and visual content shared online over 1.5 years, as well as their engaging presentations, hospitality during the competition, and knowledge-sharing through gamification with visitors and other teams.

The term “Riad” refers to the typology of traditional Moroccan houses, typically built from soil, which share similarities with traditional Turkish homes that feature yards and open corridors. The name “ReYard” combines two syllables: “re,” meaning “again” or “recycle,” and “yard,” referring to both a courtyard and the Riad style. The design of the ReYard House draws inspiration from both traditional Turkish and Moroccan architectural styles, embodying the lifestyle of a modern five-member Moroccan family. In both cultures, privacy is paramount, significantly influencing the architectural design, with families spending much of their time in the yard, which serves as a key living space. This makes the comfort of the yard an essential element of the design.

The courtyard of the ReYard House is designed for comfort in the hot, dry desert climate, providing shade and maintaining a humid environment. Separator walls allow wind to pass through, cooling the space while maintaining privacy by limiting visibility from the outside. The south and west facades are solid, without transparent elements, to enhance privacy. Solar panels, inclined at 15 degrees on a wooden canopy, maximize energy efficiency. This canopy shields the yard from the sun, regulates the climate, and channels wind into the courtyard. The evaporation from the algae pond further helps cool the space.

The ReYard House is constructed using rammed earth and wooden-framed panels as its primary building elements, with the walls assembled by connecting them side by side. Bamboo sticks serve as insulation between the inner and outer panels. The house follows a modular design, and the traces of this modularity, which was assembled outdoors, are visible in the interior spaces. The selected furniture and layout create a flexible and adaptable interior. Garden furniture, crafted by the team’s product designers, was made from waste pallets and leftover rammed earth panels, reducing waste and minimizing the house’s environmental and ecological footprint.

A key goal of ReYard House was to reduce its water and carbon footprints by implementing a microalgae-based advanced wastewater treatment system. Domestic wastewater from the bathroom and kitchen is biologically treated in a Membrane Bioreactor, allowing the remaining inorganic nutrients to be reused in the algae pond. This system provides treated water for secondary purposes, such as irrigation. Organic fertilizers are produced through composting organic kitchen waste and microalgae biomass. Water from the algae pond, which promotes plant growth, is directly used for landscape irrigation. The microalgae, which grow through photosynthesis, produce 5 to 10 times more oxygen compared to terrestrial plants in the same area. Thus, the algae pond acts like a miniature forest in the courtyard, absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere.

Through these innovative systems, ReYard House is able to reuse 80% of its wastewater for water supply. The house incorporates advanced HVAC systems to maximize energy efficiency. A plate-type heat recovery unit provides night cooling for the living room, while single-room heat recovery units with ceramic cartridges cool fresh air entering the living room and bedrooms. The air source heat pump’s efficiency is boosted by evaporative cooling, allowing cold water to be stored in an accumulation tank at night. ReYard’s heating and cooling needs are met by this air source heat pump system, supported by a thermal solar system. Over the two-year design process, Team Bosphorus conducted extensive research and development in collaboration with industrial sponsors, recycling, reusing, and reinterpreting materials, which is why they named the project ReYard.