It seems like only yesterday I was writing about last year’s Solar Decathlon, but already, the entries are lining up for the 2011 competition!

CH:IP, by a group of students from SCI-Arc and Caltech, stands out as a particularly interesting entry. The unusual name stands for Compact House: Increasing Possibility, and its small size is a key part of the design. The designers believe the compact shape makes it ideal for infill housing within existing developed areas, as shown by the image below:

Entries to the Solar Decathlon must be 500 square feet or less, and powered by Solar Energy. The CH:IP generates this energy using solar panels on its rooftop, but whilst the design is definitely striking, it doesn’t seem to maximise the use of solar paneling like last year’s winner (pictured below) so it would be a surprise to see CH:IP walk away with the top prize in 2011.