by Brianna Crandall — May 9, 2016 — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and ecological design projects that protect and enhance the environment. The projects will be honored at the 2016 AIA Convention in Philadelphia.
The COTE Top Ten Awards program, now in its 20th year, is considered the profession’s most rigorous recognition program for sustainable design excellence. The program celebrates projects that are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems and technology.
By conducting an in-depth study [See FMLink article] of nearly 200 COTE Top Ten Award winning projects encompassing almost 20 years in the recently released report, Lessons from the Leading Edge, it was determined that design projects recognized through this program are outpacing the industry by virtually every standard of performance.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Region 10’s Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, Oregon, was selected as the recipient of the Top Ten Plus award. In its fourth year, the award recognizes one past COTE Top Ten Award recipient that has quantifiable metrics demonstrating the true impact the sustainable design has achieved. The project was selected in 2014 as a recipient of the COTE Top Ten program. More information on the design elements and images are available on the AIA Web site.
2016 COTE Top Ten Plus Award winner:
- Edith Green – Wendell Wyatt Federal Building; Portland, Oregon; SERA Architects with Cutler Anderson Architects
2016 COTE Top Ten Award winners:
- Biosciences Research Building (BRB); Galway, Ireland; Payette and Reddy Architecture + Urbanism
- Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL); Pittsburgh; The Design Alliance Architects
- Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion; Decatur, TX; Lake|Flato Architects
- Exploratorium at Pier 15; San Francisco; EHDD
- H-E-B at Mueller; Austin, TX; Lake|Flato Architects, H-E-B Design + Construction, Selser Schaefer Architects
- J. Craig Venter Institute; San Diego; ZGF Architects LLP
- Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation; Berkeley, CA; Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
- Rene Cazenave Apartments; San Francisco; Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and Saida + Sullivan Design Partners, Associated Architect
- University of Wyoming – Visual Arts Facility; Laramie, WY; Hacker Architects and Malone Belton Able PC
- West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library; Berkeley, CA; Harley Ellis Devereaux
Photos and descriptions of the 2016 COTE Top Ten Award winners are available on the AIA Web site.
