Each year, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) selects the ten best green buildings. Since this will be the report’s 20th year, the organization has a large enough sample size to find some key takeaways from the projects it has recognized.
"Lessons from the Leading Edge" is a study of the 200 Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Award winning projects since 1997. The report tracks energy efficiency, water conservation, and indoor environmental quality and evaluates design quality and environmental performance.
“Top Ten winners are an extraordinary group of case studies from the leading edge of sustainable design over the past two decades,” Lance Hosey, FAIA, lead author of the report and a member of the COTE Advisory Group, said in a statement. “The projects have been studied and published widely as individual projects, but never as a group—until now. What we found is that Top Ten winners are outpacing the industry by virtually every standard of performance, but they also exemplify the integration of design excellence and sustainable performance.”
The report offered recommendations for architects (“Drive greater awareness of the health impact of building materials and need for better indoor air quality,” for example) and it noted green projects trends. Projects effectively reduce water and often exceed AIA 2030 Commitment targets for energy savings. They tend to be located in urban areas and skew more towards the West Coast of North America.
"Lessons from the Leading Edge" is being released before the 2016 Top Ten Green Project awards, which will be announced April 22.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Feb 18, 2022
Proposal would make all new buildings in Los Angeles carbon-neutral
Los Angeles may become the next large city to ban fossil fuels from new construction if legislation recently introduced in the city council becomes law.
Green | Jan 10, 2022
The future of regenerative building is performance-based
Why measuring performance results is so critical, but also easier said than done.
Sustainability | Oct 28, 2021
Reducing embodied carbon in construction, with sustainability leader Sarah King
Sustainability leader Sarah King explains how developers and contractors can use the new EC3 software tool to reduce embodied carbon in their buildings.
Green | Oct 6, 2021
My reaction to the UN IPCC Climate Change 2021 report: Ugh!
The recent report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is not a happy read.
Sponsored | Glass and Glazing | Oct 1, 2021
Seizing the Daylight with BIPV Glass
Glass has always been an idea generator. Now, it’s also a clean energy generator.
Wood | Jul 16, 2021
The future of mass timber construction, with Swinerton's Timberlab
In this exclusive for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield sat down with three Timberlab leaders to discuss the launch of the firm and what factors will lead to greater mass timber demand.
Education Facilities | Jun 4, 2021
Three ProConnect events coming this fall: Sustainability (Nov 2-3), Education (Nov 16-17), Multifamily (Dec 12-14)
SGC Horizon ProConnect 2021 schedule for Education, Multifamily, Office, and Single Family events.
Wood | May 14, 2021
What's next for mass timber design?
An architect who has worked on some of the nation's largest and most significant mass timber construction projects shares his thoughts on the latest design trends and innovations in mass timber.
Industry Research | Apr 9, 2021
BD+C exclusive research: What building owners want from AEC firms
BD+C’s first-ever owners’ survey finds them focused on improving buildings’ performance for higher investment returns.
Building Owners | Feb 4, 2021
The Weekly show, Feb 4, 2021: The rise of healthy buildings and human performance
This week on The Weekly show, BD+C editors speak with AEC industry leaders from Brookfield Properties, NBBJ, and UL about healthy buildings certification and improving human performance through research-based design.
