y. In addition to ConSol (Stockton, Calif.), the teams include Davis Energy Group (Davis, Calif.), NAHB Research Center (Upper Marlboro, Md.), and Steven Winter Associates (Norwalk, Conn.).
Other Zero Energy Homes projects in the region include Clarum Homes' Vista Montana community in Watsonville, Calif., Morrison Homes' Lakeside community in Elk Grove, Calif., and the Armory Park del Sol neighborhood, built by John Wesley Miller Companies in Tucson, Ariz.
New Construction Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities
Around the clock operation, infection control requirements, intensive energy and water requirements and a strict regulatory environment make healthcare facilities especially challenging when designers attempt to apply sustainable design principles. Designers, owners and operators will soon have a self-certifying metric tool to benchmark their progress toward creating healing environments that are also sustainable. The tool is called Green Guidelines for Healthcare Construction™ (GGHC™) and is being developed with the support of the Merck Family Fund. Building on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2.1 structure, these new guidelines respond to many issues unique to healthcare facilities and address operations and maintenance as well as construction. The current draft of GGHC identifies 106 total points compared to 69 in LEED 2.1. Public comments on the draft are being accepted until February 29th. More information and the comment form can be found on the GGHC Web site.
EPA Announces Sustainability Competition
To respond to the scientific and technical needs of the developed and developing world in moving toward sustainability, EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Paul Gilman and President of the National Academy of Engineering William Wulf have launched the P3 Award. This national student design competition will enable college students to research, develop and design sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. Support for the competition includes more than 27 partners in the federal government, industry, and scientific and professional societies.
Up to 50 awards will be made for a maximum of $10,000 per team in the autumn of 2004. The money will be used for research and development of the team’s sustainable design during the academic year. In spring 2005, all teams will be invited to bring their designs to Washington, D.C. to compete for the P3 Award. The National Academy of Engineering will convene a panel of judges for the competition.
P3 highlights three components of sustainability: People, prosperity and the planet. Fundamental to the success of any sustainable design are relevant social, economic and environmental considerations that are key for this award.
The P3 competition is scheduled to open in January for students attending colleges, universities and other post-secondary educational institutions. Interdisciplinary teams are strongly encouraged, including representatives from multiple engineering departments and/or departments of chemistry, architecture, industrial design, economics, policy, social sciences, business, etc.
The closing date for applications is March 25, 2004. More information about the competition can be found on the Internet at the P3 Award Web site.
Housing Design Competition, Norwalk Connecticut
In response to the need for below-market-rate housing in the City of Norwalk, Connecticut, the Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk (NHA) is sponsoring a housing design competition for exemplary site and unit plans for first-time homebuyers, entry- and mid-level professionals, and fixed-income seniors.
The site for the design competition is an existing 7.6-acre parcel of land located north of West Cedar Street in Norwalk. It is currently an open plot of land bordered by housing developments that, for the most part, are buffered from the site by heavy vegetation. The site currently contains an active community center shared by the residents of the neighboring development. The competition program calls for the design of a new community center, wh