Projects showcase excellence in sustainable design principles and reduced
energy consumption
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the
Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable
architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
The projects will be honored at the AIA 2009 National Convention and Design
Exposition in San Francisco.
The 2009 COTE Top Ten Green Projects program celebrates projects that are the
result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems and
technology. They make a positive contribution to their communities, improve
comfort for building occupants and reduce environmental impacts through
strategies such as reuse of existing structures, connection to transit systems,
low-impact and regenerative site development, energy and water conservation, use
of sustainable or renewable construction materials, and design that improves
indoor air quality.
Members of the jury include: Michelle Addington, Yale School of Architecture;
Brandy Brooks, Assoc. AIA, Community Design Resource Center of Boston; William
Leddy, FAIA, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects; Nadav Malin, BuildingGreen LLC; Kim
Shinn, LEED AP, LTLC Engineering for Architecture; and James Timberlake, FAIA,
Kieran Timberlake Associates LLP.
“In architecture, performance and aesthetics are inextricably linked. The
COTE Top Ten is one of the very few awards that evaluates performance and
design,” said jury members. “Other awards and organizations look strictly at
performance without care for how a building looks.”
The COTE Top Ten projects are listed here. For further details on the
projects, please visit www.aiatopten.org.
Charles Hostler Student Center (VJAA) Beirut, Lebanon
Photo: Paul Crosby Studio
The Hostler Center design responded to its unique social and environmental
context. Situated on Beirut’s seafront and main public thoroughfare, the new
204,000 square foot facility includes competitive and recreational athletic
facilities, an auditorium, cafeteria with study space, and underground parking
for 200 cars. Multiple building volumes were proposed that interconnected a
continuous field of habitable space with gardens on multiple levels. The design
for the new Hostler Center synthesizes architecture and landscape to create a
set of richly varied and environmentally diverse spaces for people to gather in
throughout the day and evening.
Chartwell (EHDD Architecture) Seaside, CA
Photo: Michael David Rose
The shared vision for the new Chartwell School campus was to create an
exceptional, high-performance learning environment for children with learning
differences. The goal was a campus that integrated proven strategies to improve
learning outcomes and that would function as a teaching tool about
sustainability, all while dramatically reducing environmental impacts. Sited on
a hill overlooking Monterey Bay, this project seamlessly blends the elements of
site, program and environmental conservation.
Gish Apartments (OJK Architecture and Planning) San Jose, CA
Photo: Bernard Andre
Gish Apartments is a 35-unit transit-oriented family apartment complex that
provides quality affordable housing. The mixed-use plan includes a ground floor
7-Eleven and beauty salon to serve the neighborhood. Gish Apartments is a ground
breaking development both for its architectural design and in its use of
renewable energy technologies and other green building features. Gish is the
only affordable housing development in the U.S. to receive both LEED for Homes
and LEED NC Gold certification.
Great River Energy Headquarters (Perkins+Will) Maple Grove, MN
Photo: Don F. Wong
Great River Energy (GRE) is a not-for-profit electric utility cooperative owned
by its members. Great River Energy’s Headquarters is a 166,000 square foot,
four-story concrete frame and glass curtain wall office building. GRE’s new
office environment was designed to showcase workplace productivity, energy
efficient technologies, and a collaborative culture within the most electric
energy-efficient building in the state. GRE was looking to demonstrate energy
efficient technologies that can be transferred to their customers in an effort
to reduce the future demand for fossil fuel electric generation.
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (Ross Barney Architects) Evanston, IL
Photo: S. Hall, H. Blessing
The design of the new synagogue for the JRC balances the limitations of a small
site with an ambitious program that promotes worship, education, and community
objectives. JRC's commitment to the principle of tikkun olam—Hebrew for "repairing
the world"—is manifest in the building's architecture. On a modest budget, the
synagogue achieved a LEED Platinum certification, a primary goal of its board of
directors. JRC has become a community leader, demonstrating benefits of green
design.
Portola Valley Town Center (Siegel & Strain Architects) Portola Valley, CA
Photo: Cesar Rubio, courtesy of Siegel & Strain Architects
Replacing three town structures—a library, community hall, and town hall—the
Portolo Valley Town Center, used the publics’ input in the design process, while
a task force established six goals that were used as a metric by the town
council, citizenry, and the design team to evaluate design proposals. The center
was completed while adhering to these goals by taking advantage of the building
site, creating civic and recreational space for the entire community, meeting
all the municipal needs of the town, creating space that facilitates casual
meetings, exemplify the town's rural design ideals that compliment the landscape,
and becoming an extension of the town’s residences.
Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center (Lake|Flato Architects) Orange,
TX
Hester + Hardaway Photography
Located on 252 acres, the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center serves
primarily as an interpretive center for the site’s native ecosystems as well as
a facility for study and research. The Nature Center provides hands-on learning
opportunities by means of an exhibit called the Nature Discovery Center, a
laboratory, and three outdoor classrooms located deep in the cypress swamp. At
the beginning of the construction process the property sustained a direct hit
from Hurricane Rita, but the team was still able to maintain LEED Platinum
standards in the building process by salvaging natural materials, as many fallen
trees were either incorporated into the construction of the new facilities or
harvested for lumber for other projects.
Synergy at Dockside Green (Busby Perkins+Will Architects Co.) Victoria, BC
Photo: Enrico Dagostini
Dockside Green is a 1.3 million square foot, mixed-use development on a former
brownfield site. The first phase, Synergy, includes four buildings constructed
over a common underground parking structure. The program for Synergy includes a
nine-story residential tower with commercial units on the ground floors, a
two-story townhouse building; a six-story building with commercial units on the
ground floor and a four-story residential building. The site is bound by roads
on the west and north sides, a greenway and creek on the east side, and future
development on the south side.
The Terry Thomas (Weber Thompson) Seattle, WA
Photo: Gabe Hanson
The Terry Thomas was designed to provide a healthy and creative work environment
that would illustrate the possibilities of sustainable design. The building has
37,000 square-feet of office space on four floors. The ground level features
3,000 square-feet of retail and restaurant space, and a central courtyard that
provides a gathering space. As both the designers and inhabitants of The Terry
Thomas, the occupants now enjoy the benefits of strong natural and cultural
connections while simultaneously increasing their productivity potential. In the
process, they have created an experimental and educational tool for promoting
sustainable design.
World Headquarters for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (DesignLAB Architects) Yarmouthport, MA
Photo: Peter Vanderwarker
The new LEED Gold IFAW headquarters encompasses 54,000 square-feet of space in
three connected buildings. The project accomplishes its goals through a
pragmatic low-cost, low-tech approach to sustainability based on fundamentals
and common sense. The site landscape draws from the 18th-century Bartlett farm
in nearby Barnstable as a model of landscape preservation. The resulting layout
is in the tradition of rural Cape Cod development; a half-acre courtyard of
native grasses, open to the south, centers the building complex, whose flexible
architecture is located at the north, east and west edges of the site.
About The American Institute of Architects
For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked
with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure,
and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. By using sustainable design practices,
materials, and techniques, AIA architects are uniquely poised to provide the
leadership and guidance needed to provide solutions to address climate change.
AIA architects walk the walk on sustainable design.
Further Information:
AIA
The American Institute of Architects
1735 New York Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006-5292 • USA
Tel.: +1 202-626-7300
Fax: +1 202-626-7547
eMail: infocentral@aia.org
web: www.aia.org and
www.aiatopten.org
