The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC)will announce the winners of the its Best Sustainable Practice Award and Exemplary Sustainable Building Award at the 2005 SBIC Awards ceremony on December 15. The ceremony and reception will be held at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. Leon Chatelain, III, SBIC board director and president of Chatelain Architects, PC, will host the ceremony.

Also on that day, SBIC's members and colleagues will gather on SBIC's Super Thursday for a full day of activities featuring a timely plenary, interactive forum, annual member peer-to-peer exchange, and presentation of the 2005 Best Sustainable Practice and Exemplary Sustainable Building awards. The goal of Super Thursday is to educate practitioners, owners, federal officials, and educators and students on the latest trends and current state of sustainable design in the built environment. SBIC's Super Thursday is held as part of SBIC's Ecobuild Federal conference and expo.

This year, the council will give awards in two categories. The Best Sustainable Practice Award recognizes the exceptional contributions SBIC members are making to sustainability across the United States. The 2005 Best Sustainable Practice Awards were open to all SBIC members, many of whom continue to set the standard for energy- and resource-efficient design in America's buildings. The 2005 Exemplary Sustainable Building Award recognizes institutional, residential, and government buildings that demonstrate the successful application of the whole building design approach. This year's focus is on the integration of sustainability and durability. All building design professionals, including SBIC members and nonmembers, were eligible to compete in the Exemplary Sustainable Building category. Each project recognized under this category provides lessons to learn from, fostering the movement toward more sustainable buildings.

The winners in each category are described below.

2005 Best Sustainable Practice Awards

  • Sustainable Policy/Program Initiatives

    The North Carolina Solar Center for the "North Carolina Healthy Built Homes Program."

    Honorable Mention: The Green Building Initiative for "Bringing Green Building Principles to Mainstream Builders"

  • Sustainable Research, Development, Construction Process, and Demonstration

    BASF for "BASF'S Eco-efficiency Analysis Method: Enabling Sustainable Construction Practices"

  • Educational Initiatives

    HOK Architects for "The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design, second edition"

    Honorable Mentions: 1) ASHRAE for the "ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guide ASHRAE"; and 2) ASHRAE for the "Building for the Future: Supplement to ASHRAE Journal"

  • Stimulating Demand through Increased Consumer Awareness

    SawHorse, Inc. - Carl Seville for "Transforming Housing through Green Remodeling: Working to Create the Demand for Sustainable Home Remodeling"

  • 2005 Exemplary Sustainable Building Awards

    First Place

    Innovative Design for the Heritage Middle School

    Second Place

    Hickory Consortium/Arrowstreet Architects for the Artists for Humanity Epicenter

    Third Place

    Susan Maxman & Partners, Architects for the Natural Lands Trust Headquarters Expansion

    Honorable Mentions:

    Integrated Architecture for the Steelcase Workstage GVSU MAREC Building of the Future; and

    HOK Architects for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Forensic Laboratory & Coroner's Office