The American Institute of Architects select the 2010 COTE Top Ten Green Projects

Washington, D.C. – April 21 2010 – The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its
Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable
architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The
projects will be honored at the AIA 2010 National Convention and Design Exposition in
Miami.
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The COTE Top Ten Green Projects program, now in its 14 year, is the profession's best
known recognition program for sustainable design excellence. The 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.

The 2010 COTE Top Ten Green Projects jury includes: Peter Busby, Assoc. AIA, Int'l. Assoc.
AIA, Busby Perkins & Will; Robert Harris, FAIA, Lake Flato Architects; Denis Hayes, The
Bullitt Foundation; Lisa Heschong, Heschong Mahone Group, Inc.; Alison G. Kwok, AIA,
University of Oregon; Elizabeth I. Ogbu, Assoc. AIA, Public Architecture.

The descriptions below give a brief summary of the projects. To obtain detailed information
regarding specific aspects of the sustainable features or to obtain images of these projects,
please go here or contact Matt Tinder at mtinder@aia.org.

355 11th Street – Matarozzi/Pelsinger Building, San Francisco

Aidlin Darling Design

355 Eleventh is a LEED-NC Gold adaptive reuse of a Historic (and previously derelict) turn-
of the-century industrial building. Because the project site is on the National Register of
Historic Places, the San Francisco Planning Department mandated that the project’s new
siding be an “in-kind” replacement of the original (unsalvageable) corrugated metal siding
and that the overall window area be consistent between old and new. The design team
successfully championed a strategy of introducing subtle perforations into the new zinc
cladding to allow light and air into the occupied spaces beyond, maintaining the stoic
character of the original building without the visual introduction of new fenestration.

City of Watsonville Water Resources Center, Watsonville, Calif.

WRNS Studio

The Water Resources Center is a functional, educational and visual extension of the water
recycling plant it supports. The new 16,000 square foot building consolidates three different
city and county water departments into a workspace that allows for thoughtful and
continuous collaboration on issues of water management, conservation and quality in the
Pajaro Valley. The facility includes administrative offices, a water quality lab, educational
space and a design that puts the story of water in California on display. The building, its
systems and its landscape will serve to educate the public through exhibition and guided
tours.

KAUST, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

HOK

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a new international,

graduate-level research university established to drive innovation in science and technology
and to support world-class research in areas such as energy and the environment. KAUST's
new campus is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's first LEED certified project and the world's
largest LEED Platinum project. By integrating sustainable measures into the site planning,
the community, the building design and the campus operations, the university is
demonstrating new ways to build in the region and promoting responsible stewardship of
the environment.
Kroon Hall - Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Hopkins Architects and Centerbrook Architects & Planners

Replacing a brownfield site, Kroon Hall was charged with being a net zero energy building.
The architects and the University wanted Kroon Hall to set a new standard for schools
around the country. It had to function not simply as a sustainable overlay that offset
unsustainable practices in people’s everyday lives but as something that inspired and
encouraged people to alter their lives and become more sustainable citizens. This was
accomplished through a mix of active and passive design measures and visible, invisible and
interactive building features.

Manassas Park Elementary School + Pre-K, Manassas Park, Va.

VMDO Architects, P.C.

MPES is fundamentally designed around the premise that people, especially children, cannot
be expected to preserve or protect something they do not understand. As such, the school
is conceived throughout as a teaching tool that shepherds children along a path of
environmental stewardship. Inside and out, sustainable design is integrated with the
elementary curriculum. Design decisions were made with the expressed goal of showcasing
as many teachable moments as possible. Interior extended learning spaces offer dramatic
and surprisingly intimate views of the neighboring mixed oak forest, while elementary
classrooms face shady moss and fern-covered learning courtyards featuring “fallen” trees
and other particularities of an eastern deciduous forest floor.

Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects and Smith Carter Architects and
Engineers

Manitoba Hydro Place was designed utilizing a formal integrated design process to achieve
daunting goals of energy efficiency, healthy workplace environment, urban revitalization,
sustainability and architectural excellence. A model for bioclimatic design in an extreme
climate that fluctuates 70°C annually, the ‘Capital A’ form is site specific to harness the
maximum amount of passive solar and wind energies and to provide 100% fresh air, 24/7.
At 88 kwh/m2/annually, from a demand side, it is the most energy efficient large office
tower in North America, with a 66% improvement over the standard. While targeting LEED
Platinum certification, Manitoba Hydro Place has, more importantly, achieved its ultimate
goal of a superior indoor environment for the health and well-being of its employees.

Michael J. Homer Science & Student Life Center, Atherton, Calif.

Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

The 44,109 square foot building incorporates an unusual hybrid program of eight
sophisticated science classrooms, a 700-seat auditorium, a 350-seat dining hall with full
commercial kitchen, and administrative offices in spaces that inspire scientific inquiry, foster
a strong learning community and promote environmental stewardship. The Homer Center
supports Sacred Heart Schools’ educational mission, inspiring respect for creation and
teaching eco-literacy by offering a variety of integrated educational environments that
connect students and faculty to the natural world around them on a daily basis. The design
encourages scientific inquiry, linking the school’s science curriculum to building functions
throughout the seasons – how it breathes, resists gravity, conserves precious resources and
generates energy.
Omega Center for Sustainable Living, Rhinebeck, N.Y.
BNIM Architects

The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) is a very purposeful building and site,
designed to clean water, return the clean water to the local systems, and educate users
about the process. Eco-Machine™ technologies were selected to clean the water utilizing
natural systems including the earth, plants and sunlight. The entire building and water
process utilize site harvested renewable energy achieving a net zero energy system. This
required the facility to be free of waste (volume, material, energy), organized and carefully
tuned to harvest solar energy for passive heating and lighting, utilizing the entire mass for
thermal comfort. The resultant design’s simplicity and elegance fit its noble purpose.
Special No. 9 House, New Orleans, La.
KieranTimberlake

The Special No. 9 House was designed for the Make It Right Foundation to provide storm-
resistant, affordable, and sustainable housing options for the residents of New Orleans’
Lower Ninth Ward displaced by Hurricane Katrina. To support Make It Right’s goal of
building 150 homes in the Lower Ninth Ward, this single-family home is poised for mass
production, anticipating a shift from on-site to off-site fabrication as more homes are
scheduled for construction. Key goals were to create safe, healthy and dignified housing to
residents in a flood-prone area, and to empower residents to return to improved living
conditions that take advantage of New Orleans’ climate and express its deep cultural
heritage.

Twelve|West, Portland, Ore.

Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP

Rising 23 stories above the intersection of Twelfth and Washington streets in Southwest
Portland, Twelve|West is a mixed-use building designed with sustainability and ongoing
learning as integral goals. Twelve|West was designed to achieve the highest levels of urban
sustainability, and is expected to earn a Platinum rating under LEED NC overall and LEED CI
for the office floors. An emphasis was put on selecting low-impact materials, including
salvage, reclaimed and FSC-certified wood. Much of the concrete building structure is
exposed on the interior minimizing the use of finish material and providing ample thermal
mass. Energy use reduction was a primary driver of the design. Simulations predict energy
savings of 45% over a baseline code building.
About The American Institute of Architects
For over 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