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...