Washington - The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) is now soliciting entries for the 2007 Beyond GreenTM High Performance Building Awards. As the Council entered its seventh year of awards programs, the emphasis was updated to reflect its evolving approach to building design, summed up by Beyond Green.
These unique awards will recognize initiatives that shape, inform and catalyze the high-performance building market, as well as the real-world application of high-performance construction practices. The program is open to all and offers two entry categories: "High Performance Initiatives" and "High Performance Buildings." Federal, state and private sector entries are welcome. Commercial, institutional and residential buildings are all eligible. Appropriate applicants would include trade associations, researchers, architects, engineers, consultants, universities and educators, builders, public and private building owners, product manufacturers and suppliers, marketing and media experts, and utilities.
The top award winners will be invited to speak at the National Building Museum on January 16, 2008 in conjunction with a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored lecture series. The day's activities will include an awards presentation ceremony and reception (logistical details to be announced). Additional benefits include an announcement in SBIC's member newsletter, Buildings Inside & Out, a handsome plaque, and ... so that others may learn from this process ... winning projects will be published as case studies on the SBIC Web site (www.sbicouncil.org) and on the Whole Building Design Guide Web site (www.wbdg.org) (which gets hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month and has more than 1 million documents downloaded each month).
Criteria: Award submissions in both categories will be evaluated based on the successful application of the design objectives, and on energy and environmental considerations. In addition, submissions in the High Performance Initiatives Category (which can include policy/program initiatives, research, product development, educational or consumer awareness efforts) will also be evaluated on transferability and marketability.
In the High Performance Building Category, benefits to the owner /client, innovation and integration will also be taken into consideration in judging.
Sponsors for the awards program include BASF, SKANSKA, BOMA, CertainTeed and the Whole Building Design Guide.
Entries must be submitted no later than Friday, November 30, 2007. Entry fees range from $200 to $400. Full details, including the call for entries, submission guidelines and applications are available online at www.sbicouncil.org.
About SBIC
The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to unite and inspire the building industry toward higher performance through education, outreach, advocacy and the mutual exchange of ideas. Visit www.sbicouncil.org for more information.
