U.S. GBC Natural Talent Design Competition 2010 is Now Underway

Deadline for project submission is May 31, 2010

 

 

Small, Green, Affordable...

 

The Salvation Army joins the U.S. Green Building Council this year in hosting U. S. GBC‘s 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition. Entrants will design an affordable, 800 square foot green home for an elderly client in the Broadmoor, New Orleans neighborhood. Winners will be announced after the top four entries have been constructed, inhabited and evaluated.

 

Through its EnviRenew initiative, The Salvation Army is kicking off a large-scale residential green building campaign in five neighborhoods in New Orleans, facilitating the construction of 125 new homes and the renovation of 125 existing homes over the next three years through the provision of grant financing to homebuyers and homeowners. EnviRenew identifies sustainability as a critical component of comprehensive neighborhood recovery and engages green building issues within broader discussions regarding affordable housing, community capacity, neighborhood renewal and storm-resilience.

 

The Salvation Army and the U.S. Green Building Council recognize that financially vulnerable individuals, families, and neighborhoods are particularly in need of the benefits that sustainable design and green building practices bring. This partnership challenges entrants to design homes that demonstrate both short-term and long-term affordability, a high quality of life for their residents, and replicable strategies that contribute to our understanding of how to build affordably, efficiently and with minimal impact on the environment.

 

This year the challenge is to design an 800SF LEED for Homes Platinum Home for an elderly couple in Broadmoor, New Orleans. Among other requirements, this home must be ADA compliant, hurricane resistant, and include outdoor living space. Not only do the winners receive a local prize, but they qualify to compete in the national competition, have their project exhibited at Greenbuild, and potentially have their design constructed in New Orleans! It is a great opportunity for any emerging professional or student. All the information necessary can be found at the link underneath the image.

 

The winners from each local competition move on to compete for a national grand prize and recognition throughout the USGBC community. Past winners have included teams from New York City, North Carolina, Colorado, Boston, Phoenix, The District of Columbia, and Ontario, Canada.

 

Since its inception, the Natural Talent Design Competition has focused on many different design challenges around the country and has grown and evolved in each subsequent year. Despite this growth, the competition has maintained its core values of including the young designers of the world and working to establish a more sustainable built environment.

 

Find out more, here.