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AIA COTE Picks 10 Best Green Projects for 2011

by Ian Volner | Friday, April 22, 2011

The American Institute of Architects will honor 10 firms for outstanding eco-sensitive work at its yearly National Convention and Design Exhibition to be held in New Orleans, May 12-14. The selection of the winning projects, which range from schools to houses and beyond, was spearheaded by the AIA’s Committee on the Environment, the self-described “community and voice on behalf of AIA architects regarding sustainable design.”

This year’s winners, the 15th batch to be so honored, come from around the country, and represent a broad spectrum of practices and styles. From BNIM Architects, Kiowa County, Kansas’s K-12 School was built to fit the comprehensive green-plan put in place by its hometown of Greensburg, and includes a 50-kilowatt wind turbine. The new Vancouver Convention Centre from Seattle-based LMN Architects is a vision in green, with a six-acre “living roof” that’s home to over 4,000 indigenous plants. And mixed-use residential structure Step Up on 5th by Brooks + Scarpa (formerly Pugh + Scarpa) is an oasis of high-density habitation in low-rise Santa Monica that points toward a new, more efficient mode of building for America’s sprawl-happy cities. Step Up is Brooks + Scarpa’s second project to make the list—the team is getting kudos as well for its Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles.

See the full list of winners below.

Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California
Brooks + Scarpa (formerly Pugh + Scarpa)

First Unitarian Society Meeting House, Madison, Wisconsin
The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc.
Photo:  Zane Williams

Kiowa County K-12 Schools, Greensburg, Kansas
BNIM Architects
Photo: Assassi

High Tech High Chula Vista, Chula Vista, California
Studio E Architects
Photo: Jim Brady

LIVESTRONG Foundation, Austin, Texas
Lake|Flato Architects
Photo: Hester + Hardaway

LOTT Clean Water Alliance, Olympia, Washington
The Miller | Hull Partnership
Photo: Nic Lehoux

OS House, Racine, Wisconsin
Johnsen Schmaling Architects
Photo: John J. Macaulay

Research Support Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado
RNL Design
Photo: Frank Ooms

Step Up on 5th, Santa Monica, California
Brooks + Scarpa (formerly Pugh + Scarpa)
Photo: John Linden

Vancouver Convention Centre West, Vancouver, British Columbia
Design Architect: LMN Architects, Prime Architects: DA/MCM

Images courtesy of the American Institute of Architects.