by Brianna Crandall — April 23, 2012—The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected their top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions from across the nation that reduce energy consumption and protect and enhance the environment. The projects will be honored at the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition May 17-19 in Washington, D.C.
The COTE Top Ten Green Projects program, now in its 16th year, is the profession’s best-known recognition program for sustainable design excellence, says AIA. The program celebrates projects that are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems and technology. These projects are designed to 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.
The COTE Top Ten Green Projects for 2012 are:
- 1315 Peachtree Street/Perkins+Will: a civic-focused adaptive reuse of a 1986 office structure transformed into a living laboratory and educational tool for sustainable design in Atlanta, Georgia, by Perkins+Will
- Arizona State University (ASU) Polytechnic Academic District: a decommissioned airbase turned into an inviting pedestrian campus that includes five high-performance LEED Gold rated buildings in Mesa, Arizona, by RSP Architects and Lake Flato Architects
- Chandler City Hall: a low to mid-rise government complex suitable for the harsh desert climate of Chandler, Arizona, by SmithGroupJJR
- Iowa Utilities Board Office of Consumer Advocate Office Building: an infill development on the six-acre site of a former landfill in Des Moines, Iowa, by BNIM
- Mercy Corps Global Headquarters: a restored 42,000-square-foot neglected historical landmark in Portland, Oregon, by THA Architecture
- Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts: a sustainable school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by SMP Architects (in collaboration w/ SRK Architects)
- Music and Science Building: a public facility integrated into the existing National Historic Landmark site in Hood River, Oregon, by Opsis Architecture
- Portland Community College (PCC) Newberg Center: Oregon’s first net-zero energy higher education building, in Newberg, Oregon, by Hennebery Eddy Architects
- University of Minnesota Duluth—Bagley Classroom Building: a higher education project serving eight different departments and incorporating the German Passiv Haus system in Duluth, Minnesota, by Salmela Architect
- University of California, Merced 2009 Long Range Development Plan: a project embracing economic, social and environmental sustainability in all aspects of its built environment, operations and approach to programming in Merced, California, by UC Merced
- Arizona State University (ASU) Polytechnic Academic District: a decommissioned airbase turned into an inviting pedestrian campus that includes five high-performance LEED Gold rated buildings in Mesa, Arizona, by RSP Architects and Lake Flato Architects
