In a joint collaboration with Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and Zhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJU-UIUC) since August 2020, students in Dr. Kihong Ku’s 5th-Year Design Studio have designed the adaptive facade system for an environmentally friendly passive home targeted for lower to middle-class Chinese families for the 2021 Solar Decathlon China Competition. The team has been rapidly developing the Y-House’s innovative multi-layer live wall and acrylic panel assembly for the building’s envelope. Over the course of the competition, the team has been focusing on schematic design, design development, detailing, and constructability, as well as addressing judges comments from the the different phases of the competition. This is a Design + Build project, to be constructed at full scale in September 2021. The team has built several prototypes with guidance from collaborating US, European, and Chinese manufacturers respectively.