July 4, 2005 — Eight nonresidential new construction projects in California received 2005 Savings By Design Energy Efficiency Integration Awards for combining energy efficiency with outstanding design.
The awards program is sponsored by The American Institute of Architects, California Council; Pacific Gas and Electric Company; San Diego Gas & Electric; Southern California Edison; and Southern California Gas Company.
Blackbird Architects, Inc., received an Award of High Honor for its “Casa Nueva” Santa Barbara County Office Building. Featuring user-controlled daylighting, operable windows and high-efficiency HVAC system, it performs 20 percent better than state energy efficiency building requirements.
EHDD Architecture received an Award of Honor for the Global Ecology Research Center at Stanford University. The 11,000-square-foot research building features a tower with a windcatcher to create a breeze inside the building.
EHDD Architecture also received an Award of Merit for the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles. The building is entirely solar-powered and generates more energy than is used on-site.
LPA, Inc., received an Award of Merit for Cesar Chavez Elementary School in a once blighted redevelopment area of downtown Long Beach. The project features natural daylight in 90 percent of the internal space and natural ventilation in 75 percent of the space.
Four other projects received special citations: The Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects; Morgan Hill Aquatics Center in Morgan Hill, designed by ELS Architecture and Urban Design; Eastern Sierra Inter-Agency Visitors Center in Lone Pine, designed by Marcy Wong & Donn Logan Architects; and Solana Pacific Elementary School in San Diego, designed by HMC Architects.
Savings By Design, funded by California utility customers under the auspices of the Public Utilities Commission, offers building owners and their design teams services such as no-cost design assistance and financial incentives. For more information, visit the Web site.
