YARMOUTH PORT, MA /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) selected IFAW's (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) headquarters building as one of the 2009 top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and green design. The award will be given to IFAW and Boston-based designLAB architects at the AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in San Francisco later this month.
"We are honored to receive AIA's top 10 green award," says IFAW president Fred O'Regan. "Our international headquarters is a platform for our campaigns around the world. The green design reflects our commitment to protect animals, their habitats and the environment."
The 2009 COTE Top 10 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.
"We are delighted to see IFAW recognized for their commitment to a sustainable headquarters," says designLAB architect Robert Miklos. "It was a pleasure to collaborate with them to invent a special workplace which reflects the personality, mission and purpose of this dynamic organization."
Other recipients include the Charles Hostler Student Center in Beirut, Lebanon; Chartwell in Seaside, CA; Gish Apartments in San Jose, CA; Great River Energy Corporate Headquarters in Maple Grove, MN; Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, IL; Portola Valley Town Center, in Portola Valley, CA; Shangri LA Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Texas; Synergy at Dockside Green in Victoria, BC; and The Terry Thomas, Seattle WA.
designLAB architects and IFAW's headquarters received additional awards including the AIA award for interior architecture and three additional awards from the Boston Society of Architects, including an honor award for design, an interior architecture award and a sustainability award.
IFAW's LEED Gold-certified 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 designLAB
DesignLAB architects is a Boston-based practice working exclusively for cultural and educational clients helping them to realize their mission and to re-enforce their identity. Many of their projects involve the re-purposing of existing buildings and sites of heritage and legacy. Their current work includes projects at Berklee College of Music, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, University of Maine at Farmington, Ohio State University, Muskingum College, The Worcester Historical Museum, and Wellesley College.
About The American Institute of Architects
For more than 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. Visit www.aia.org/walkthewalk to learn more.
About the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
As the world's leading animal welfare organization, IFAW works from its global headquarters in the United States and 16 country offices to improve the welfare of wild and domestic animals by reducing the commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW works both on the ground and in the halls of government to safeguard wild and domestic animals and seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people.
Source: International Fund for Animal Welfare (www.ifaw.org)
For additional information, contact Kerry Branon of the International Fund for Animal Welfare: (508) 744-2068, or [email protected].
