The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) is awarding ten design projects with its highest honor—the COTE® Top Ten Awards—for their significant achievements in advancing climate action. Complete details for each project are available on AIA’s website.
For the past 25 years, COTE has bestowed the award annually on ten design projects that have expertly integrated design excellence with cutting-edge performance in ten key areas. The COTE Top Ten projects illustrate the solutions architects provide for the health and welfare of our communities and planet.
In order to be eligible, project submissions are required to demonstrate alignment with COTE’s rigorous criteria, which include social, economic, and ecological values. The five-member jury evaluates each project submission based on the effectiveness of their holistic design solution and metrics associated with the ten measures.
This year’s COTE Top Ten Awards recipients are as follows:
— Arizona State University Hayden Library Reinvention, Tempe, Arizona | Ayers Saint Gross
— Civitas, Memphis, Tennessee | archimania
— Lafayette College Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center, Easton, Pennsylvania | Payette
— Market One, Des Moines, Iowa | Neumann Monson Architects
— Massachusetts Institute of Technology | MIT.nano, Cambridge, Massachusetts | HGA
— Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus, Mountain View, California | WRNS Studio
— Rainier Beach Clinic, Seattle | Mahlum Architects
— Ryerson University Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex, Toronto | Perkins & Will
— The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, Atlanta | Lord Aeck Sargent in collaboration with The Miller Hull Partnership
— University of Washington, Life Sciences Building, Seattle | Perkins & Will
Visit AIA’s website for more information on the COTE Top Ten Awards program.
Related Stories
| Nov 23, 2010
Honeywell's School Energy and Environment Survey: 68% of districts delayed or eliminated improvements because of economy
Results of Honeywell's second annual “School Energy and Environment Survey” reveal that almost 90% of school leaders see a direct link between the quality and performance of school facilities, and student achievement. However, districts face several obstacles when it comes to keeping their buildings up to date and well maintained. For example, 68% of school districts have either delayed or eliminated building improvements in response to the economic downturn.
| Nov 16, 2010
Green building market grows 50% in two years; Green Outlook 2011 report
The U.S. green building market is up 50% from 2008 to 2010—from $42 billion to $55 billion-$71 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction's Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green; in five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction.
| Nov 16, 2010
Calculating office building performance? Yep, there’s an app for that
123 Zero build is a free tool for calculating the performance of a market-ready carbon-neutral office building design. The app estimates the discounted payback for constructing a zero emissions office building in any U.S. location, including the investment needed for photovoltaics to offset annual carbon emissions, payback calculations, estimated first costs for a highly energy efficient building, photovoltaic costs, discount rates, and user-specified fuel escalation rates.
| Nov 11, 2010
USGBC certifies more than 1 billion square feet of commercial space
This month, the total footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System surpassed one billion square feet. Another six billion square feet of projects are registered and currently working toward LEED certification around the world. Since 2000, more than 36,000 commercial projects and 38,000 single-family homes have participated in LEED.
| Nov 9, 2010
Just how green is that college campus?
The College Sustainability Report Card 2011 evaluated colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada with the 300 largest endowments—plus 22 others that asked to be included in the GreenReportCard.org study—on nine categories, including climate change, energy use, green building, and investment priorities. More than half (56%) earned a B or better, but 6% got a D. Can you guess which is the greenest of these: UC San Diego, Dickinson College, University of Calgary, and Dartmouth? Hint: The Red Devil has turned green.
| Nov 9, 2010
U.S. Army steps up requirements for greening building
Cool roofs, solar water heating, and advanced metering are among energy-efficiency elements that will have to be used in new permanent Army buildings in the U.S. and abroad starting in FY 2013. Designs for new construction and major renovations will incorporate sustainable design and development principles contained in ASHRAE 189.1.
| Nov 3, 2010
First of three green labs opens at Iowa State University
Designed by ZGF Architects, in association with OPN Architects, the Biorenewable Research Laboratory on the Ames campus of Iowa State University is the first of three projects completed as part of the school’s Biorenewables Complex. The 71,800-sf LEED Gold project is one of three wings that will make up the 210,000-sf complex.
| Nov 3, 2010
Park’s green education center a lesson in sustainability
The new Cantigny Outdoor Education Center, located within the 500-acre Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill., earned LEED Silver. Designed by DLA Architects, the 3,100-sf multipurpose center will serve patrons of the park’s golf courses, museums, and display garden, one of the largest such gardens in the Midwest.