The National Institute of Building Sciences Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) recognized the 2013 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building Awards winners today at a luncheon held during Building Innovation 2014: The National Institute of Building Sciences Annual Conference and Expo.
The SBIC Jury selected six winners ranging across four categories. Each of the six award-winning projects, products, initiatives and innovations demonstrate leadership in advancing the production of high-performance buildings.
The top prize in the High-Performance Buildings Category went to DPR Construction's Phoenix Regional Office. During this project, the team transformed an abandoned, distressed building in a redeveloping community of Phoenix into a modern sustainable facility that achieves net-zero energy use. Their efforts earned the building an Honor Award, First Place.
"This is a cool project,” said SBIC Juror and Associate Director of the District of Columbia Department of General Services Sam Brooks. "The focus on improving the local community and the utilization of an existing building provides a model for how to advance high-performance buildings that provide great work environments, sustainability and cost-effectiveness.”
In the High-Performance Products Category, SageGlass earned an Honor Award, First Place. The electrochromic or electronically tint-able, dynamic glass provides architects, building owners, glazing contractors and homeowners with an energy-efficient glazing solution that controls the sun without blocking the view to the outdoors.
"Sage deserves recognition for its longstanding leadership in glazing innovation,” noted Juror, Author and Green Building Architect Ann Edminster. "Also of note are its partnerships with Lutron and Schneider Electric, which show great promise to leverage the synergies available through collaboration.”
RDH Building Engineering's Enclosure Renewal approach, which lowers a building's energy consumption at low incremental capital cost, earned it recognition as an Honor Award, First Place recipient in the Innovations for High-Performance Buildings Category.
"[This process] offers the construction industry an excellent method for enhancing a building's insulation and exterior walls restoration without impacting the tenants,” stated SBIC Juror and Administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Pacific Northwest/Arctic Region George Northcroft (recipient of a 2012 Beyond Green Award). "This approach proves to be cost effective and supports many aspects of sustainability including optimizing indoor environmental quality, energy conservation, and site optimization.”
The SBIC Jury also recognized three Merit Award winners. In the High-Performance Buildings Category, a Merit Award went to Chemeketa Community College, Salem, Oregon for its new Health Sciences Complex.
In the High-Performance Initiatives Category, a Merit Award went to Retrofit Chicago, an initiative to reduce energy consumption in Chicago by 20 percent by 2017.
In the Innovations for High-Performance Buildings Category, a Merit Award went to Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Indoor Air Quality Research for development of a methodology for improved use of natural ventilation.
Each of the recipients gave slide presentations highlighting their award-winning topics to the audience during the luncheon. The winners are also invited to post their case studies on the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide®. The Call for Entries for the 2014 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building Awards will be available in August 2014.