AIA Portland Presents the 4th Annual Portland 2030 Challenge Design Awards

Architecture 2030, in collaboration with AIA Portland and their Committee on the Environment (COTE) and the BetterBricks Initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, recently presented the fourth annual 2030 Challenge Design Awards in recognition of design excellence towards meeting the 2030 Challenge reduction targets. This year’s Awards were presented as part of AIA Portland’s annual Honor Awards ceremony.

“We saw an improvement in the level of carbon reduction this year over last, and a few more net zero projects. Support for the 2030 Award seems to be growing as evidenced by the fact it was held as an integral part of the regular Design Awards program this year, ” said Joshua Hatch of Brightworks Sustainability, a member of AIA Portland’s COTE.

“Many project teams spent the extra effort to improve building performance and reduce carbon emissions,” he explained. “Architecture 2030 is very pleased to see that there is an increasing number of entries that are greatly exceeding the 2030 Challenge 60% reduction target,” said Vincent Martinez, Architecture 2030 Director of Research and Operations. “It’s especially encouraging to see entries across a range of building types – residential, commercial and institutional starting to target net zero/carbon neutral.”

Winners were selected from projects submitted for the AIA Portland 2013 Design Awards and, in addition to reduced energy consumption, submissions were required to include a calculation of operational carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Jurors then considered these CO2 calculations along with other design elements.

The following projects were winners of the 2030 Challenge Design Awards:

Grand Prize: Greatest Effort –  Chemeketa Community College Health Science Complex – SRG Partnerships

Net-Zero Excellence: Residential – Karuna House – Holst Architecture

Net-Zero Excellence: Commercial – Sokol Blosser Winery Tasting Room – Allied Works

The Chemeketa Community College Health Science Complex in Salem, OR also exceeds the 2030 Challenge targets, generating 88% fewer CO2 emissions than the average US building of the same type and size.

The Karuna House in Newberg, OR is the first MINERGIE-certified home in North America, earning the top rating of MINERGIE-P-ECO. Additionally, it has achieved Passive House PHIUS+, is pending LEED for Homes Platinum, and has reached Net Zero energy use by incorporating onsite solar panels.

The Sokol Blosser Winery Tasting Room in Dayton, WA is also a net-zero energy building, and is on track to achieve Living Building Challenge (LCB) certification by 2014. AIA Portland’s adoption of the 2030 Challenge design targets and its incorporation of the CO2 emissions calculations into the competition demonstrate an ongoing commitment to a low-carbon future and a step forward in understanding the full meaning of design excellence. We would love to see all AIA components to adopt 2030 Challenge targets as part of their competitions.

> Learn about earlier winners of the Portland 2030 Challenge Design Awards