December 26, 2008—In the third year of the Lifecycle Building Challenge competition, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and partners are inviting the nation’s architects, product developers, educators, environmental leaders, and students to submit innovative designs that minimize waste, reuse materials, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
According to EPA, ideas generated by the contest help jumpstart the building industry toward diverting the more than 100 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris sent each year to landfills in the US (see EPA’s Construction & Demolition Materials Web site). This free, Web-based competition supports an online library of competition entries and green building resources.
The Lifecycle Building Challenge 3—co-sponsored by the EPA, American Institute of Architects, West Coast Green, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, StopWaste.Org, and WasteCap Wisconsin—invites professionals and students nationwide to submit designs and ideas by August 30 that support cost-effective disassembly and anticipate future reuse of building materials.
The challenge, open to built and un-built projects, has two main categories:
- Building—an entire building from foundation to roof; and
- Product—building products or materials.
Outstanding entries in each category will be recognized and publicized in national journals and at conferences nationwide. The competition’s partners will also recognize exceptional entries in two other Outstanding Achievement Awards: Best Greenhouse Gas Reduction Design and Best School Design. Winners will be recognized in the fall of 2009.
