The 2020 COTE® Top Ten Program Designates the Best Sustainable Buildings
Sustainability has become part of the architecture aiming the goals for a net-zero economy. The green industry is booming and some projects always take leads and go further than others in terms of exemplary performance data and post-occupancy lessons. The 2020 COTE® Top Ten program highlights the projects that meet the AIA Committee on the Environment’s rigorous criteria for social, economic, and ecological value, and here are the best sustainable buildings in 2020 setting landmark for design excellence with remarkable green building features.
[Photo: courtesy AIA.org]
1. Austin Central Library
Architect: Lake|Flato Architects + Shepley Bulfinch
Located in downtown Austin, this public library is one of the best sustainable buildings, features a 373,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system; some of the water is utilized in a garden designed to attract pollinators on the rooftop of the building. It is interesting to note a soaring six-story atrium that fills the building with natural light and reading porches and outdoor dining which help connect visitors with nature. The project is certified LEED Platinum, the highest rating in LEED’s green building certification program and sustainable building design.
2. United States Land Port of Entry, Columbus, New Mexico
Richter Architects
In a remote corner of New Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert, the architects wrote on the AIA site of this border crossing that the green building conveys the country’s better virtues—architecture that serves and respects all people, embraces culture, conserves resources, nurtures ecology, protects habitat, celebrates diversity, and conveys a love of the land. Solar panels were used in the building power, which is designed to save energy. The Green building features included native plantings that help provide habitat for desert animals, while ponds and recycled concrete “sponges” help store water during rare rains. United States Land Port of Entry is another sustainable building.
3. Environmental Nature Center and Preschool
LPA, Inc.
This preschool at a nature center in Newport Beach, California, rests on four acres of open space full of native plants in a suburban neighborhood and is one of the top ten sustainable buildings. As a part of sustainable building design, rainwater is harvested from roofs into bioswales where plants filter and clean the water. The preschool, built with natural and recycled materials, is designed to be so efficient that rooftop solar panels can generate more power than the building actually needs. Preschoolers cultivate their own plants in an on-site organic garden. The green building design is flexible, so it could later be repurposed for other uses in the future and is one of the sustainable building examples.
4. Etsy Headquarters
Gensler
Etsy chose to locate its sustainable headquarters in this former printing press in Brooklyn in part to help promote sustainable commuting—in warmer months. And the result is that 65% of employees bike to work. As a part of green building features, the roof and terraces are covered with native plants; solar power panels are placed on the roof, along with an agreement to buy additional solar power offsite, and it powers the building with 100% renewable energy. During the renovation of the green building, many of the materials were salvaged locally, keeping the original structure was left in place as much as possible.
5. Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
Gensler
This renovation of the Ford Foundation’s midcentury headquarters which belongs to best sustainable buildings, made changes to better reflect the foundation’s values—instead of limited views for private offices, for example, the space is now more open. By rethinking the floorplan from the point of sustainable building design, the architects opened up half of the building to the foundation’s grantees and the public. A central atrium was replanted with plants that are more resilient. They capture rainwater for irrigation and for the purpose of a cooling tower. Efficiency upgrades of the sustainable building helped shrink energy use by 35%.
6. John W. Olver Design Building
Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Built on a former parking lot at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for the design program, this sustainable building now includes a rooftop garden and landscaping that can capture rain. As it is designed around a courtyard, natural light is maximized while reducing heat loss. A central stairway, built from cross-laminated timber, used by students to take the stairs instead of an elevator. The green building uses 54% less energy than a typical university building and the energy reduction to be considered as one of the highlights of the green building features.
7. Keller Center – Harris School of Public Policy
Farr Associates (Design Lead & Architect of Record) and Woodhouse Tinucci Architects
This restoration of a midcentury university building helped reconnect it to the adjacent neighborhood, with new paths and public spaces which replaced a massive concrete wall. Features like the blinds that are programmed to automatically close on winter nights help avoid heat loss, help the building save energy like any other sustainable building. New glazing on the windows, with an ultraviolet design that looks like a spider web, helps birds avoid crashing into the glass. The sustainable building design captures rainwater, and in heavy storms, water flows down an artificial waterfall.
8. Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
Lake|Flato Architects in collaboration with Unabridged Architecture
In 2005, the previous education center at this University of Southern Mississippi lab was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina—and storms hit the site again during the new building’s design and construction. The new design was carefully sited on higher ground, with floors built 20 feet above sea level. Its green building features included a canopy of pine and oak trees which serve as a wind buffer; instead of one larger building, the design is split into multiple small energy-efficient buildings that are tucked into the existing forest, preserving as many trees as possible on the site. The trees on the site can withstand 180-mile-an-hour winds. It also joins the list of the best sustainable buildings.
9. The Six
Brooks + Scarpa
Located on a former parking lot in Los Angeles, this 52-unit affordable apartment building is designed for formerly homeless and disabled veterans, with supportive services on site. A garden placed at the rooftop supports migratory birds. The design of the roof is done in such a way that it avoids heating up the building on hot summer days; a central courtyard creates airflow and natural ventilation along with space for residents to socialize. Ninety-five percent of the surfaces on the site are designed to absorb stormwater in the vicinity of the sustainable building.
10. Upcycle
Gensler
This design transformed a vacant building in Austin—formerly a recycling center—into creative office space. New skylights added natural light, while a new ventilation system reduced the need for air conditioning through sustainable building design. Almost all of the components found on the site of this best sustainable building were reused during the renovation process, and anything that couldn’t be reused was saved for another project, a notable green building feature that saved around 1,824 metric tons of CO2.
Read more about the sustainable buildings of 2020 COTE® Top Ten program
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