The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) is announcing this year’s recipients for its highest honor, the COTE Top Ten Awards. Complete details for each project are available on AIA’s website.
COTE bestows the award annually on 10 design projects that have expertly integrated design excellence with cutting-edge performance in ten key areas. The COTE Top Ten winning 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, 10 measures that 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 10 measures. This year’s COTE Top Ten Awards recipients are as follows:
- Austin Central Library, Austin, Texas | Lake|Flato Architects + Shepley Bulfinch Joint Venture
- U.S. Land Port of Entry, Columbus, New Mexico | Richter Architects
- Etsy Headquarters, New York | Gensler
- Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, New York | Gensler
- John W. Olver Design Building, Amherst, Massachusetts | Leers Weinzapfel Associates
- Keller Center - Harris School of Public Policy, Chicago | Farr Associates (Design Lead & Architect of Record) and Woodhouse Tinucci Architects (Collaborating Architect, Interior Designer)
- Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi | Lake|Flato Architects in association with Unabridged Architecture
- The Six, Los Angeles | Brooks + Scarpa
- UPCycle, Austin, Texas | Gensler
Jurors also designated one project as a Top Ten Plus recipient for its exceptional post-occupancy performance data. This year's recipient is:
- Environmental Nature Center and Preschool, Newport Beach, California | LPA, Inc.
Visit AIA’s website for more information on the COTE Top Ten Awards program.
In conjunction with COTE, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has selected the COTE Top Ten for Students, honoring exceptional student design projects showcasing innovation in sustainability. View the winning designs on ACSA’s website.
“The students being honored should be commended for their work and design intelligence. They provide great hope that future architects will have the skills and solutions to make our world better by integrating beautiful design with equitable climate action for human and ecological health,” said Julie Hiromoto, AIA, chair of COTE. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how necessary and valuable innovative design solutions are for healthy built environments.”
Since committing to environmental stewardship last year, architects have made notable progress in the climate action fight. Visit AIA’s website to learn more about all the climate action progress being made, including our first Climate Action Plan.
Related Stories
Modular Building | Mar 3, 2023
Pallet Shelter is fighting homelessness, one person and modular pod at a time
Everett, Wash.-based Pallet Inc. helped the City of Burlington, Vt., turn a municipal parking lot into an emergency shelter community, complete with 30 modular “sleeping cabins” for the homeless.
Codes | Mar 2, 2023
Biden Administration’s proposed building materials rules increase domestic requirements
The Biden Administration’s proposal on building materials rules used on federal construction and federally funded state and local buildings would significantly boost the made-in-America mandate. In the past, products could qualify as domestically made if at least 55% of the value of their components were from the U.S.
Industry Research | Mar 2, 2023
Watch: Findings from Gensler's latest workplace survey of 2,000 office workers
Gensler's Janet Pogue McLaurin discusses the findings in the firm's 2022 Workplace Survey, based on responses from more than 2,000 workers in 10 industry sectors.
AEC Innovators | Mar 2, 2023
Turner Construction extends its ESG commitment to thwarting forced labor in its supply chain
Turner Construction joins a growing AEC industry movement, inspired by the Design for Freedom initiative, to eliminate forced labor and child labor from the production and distribution of building products.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 1, 2023
Multifamily construction startup Cassette takes a different approach to modular building
Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based modular building startup.
Airports | Feb 28, 2023
Data visualization: $1 billion earmarked for 2023 airport construction projects
Ninety-nine airports across 47 states and two territories are set to share nearly $1 billion in funding in 2023 from the Federal Aviation Administration. The funding is aimed at help airports of all sizes meet growing air travel demand, with upgrades like larger security checkpoints and more reliable and faster baggage systems.
Seismic Design | Feb 27, 2023
Turkey earthquakes provide lessons for California
Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California. Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2023
New 20,000-seat soccer stadium will anchor neighborhood development in Indianapolis
A new 20,000-seat soccer stadium for United Soccer League’s Indy Eleven will be the centerpiece of a major neighborhood development in Indianapolis. The development will transform the southwest quadrant of downtown Indianapolis by adding more than 600 apartments, 205,000 sf of office space, 197,000 sf for retail space and restaurants, parking garages, a hotel, and public plazas with green space.
Architects | Feb 27, 2023
Hord Coplan Macht announces retirement of Founder/CEO Lee Coplan, FAIA, and names successor
Hord Coplan Macht, an award-winning integrated architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and planning firm, announces the retirement of Founder and Chief Executive Officer Lee Coplan, FAIA. Lee leaves behind a long and celebrated career leading the practice over the last four decades while bringing innovative design strategies and leadership to the architecture and design community.
Libraries | Feb 26, 2023
A $17 million public library in California replaces one that was damaged in a 2010 earthquake
California’s El Centro community, about two hours east of San Diego, recently opened a new $17 million public library. With design by Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects and engineering services by Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering, the 19,811-sf building replaces the previous library, which was built in the early 1900s, damaged by a 7.2 earthquake that struck Baja California in 2010, and demolished in 2016.
