2009 Awards of Excellence Announced at "Midsummer Night's Green"
by Ryan Macpherson
The National Capital Region chapter of USGBC has announced the winning entries in its 2009 Awards of Excellence competition. The awards were presented during the chapter's annual "Midsummer Night's Green" networking event, on Tuesday, July 21, 2009.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Tom Mawson
USGBC, National Capital Region Chapter
Phone: 703-483-6411
FAX: 703-483-6460
Email: info@usgbcncr.org
USGBC-NCR Announces Winners of Its Second Annual "Awards of Excellence" Competition
Washington, D.C., July 22, 2009 - The National Capital Region chapter of the US Green Building Council announced the recipients of the chapter's Second Annual Awards of Excellence during the organization's annual "Midsummer Night's Green" networking event on July 21, 2009, which was held at The World Bank in Washington, DC. The National Capital Region chapter includes counties in Maryland adjacent to the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.
The USGBC NCR chapter developed the Awards program in order to recognize outstanding accomplishments in sustainable design and construction, to honor USGBC member firms that have adopted "green" practices into their mission, and to celebrate chapter members who have advanced sustainability in the chapter's region. The award recipients were selected by a distinguished panel of leaders from the national capital region in various fields in the sustainable design community and development industry.
The selection committee for the 2009 Awards program included: Dr. Michael A. Anikeeff, Ph. D, Professor of real estate and chair of the Edward St. John Department of Real Estate at Johns Hopkins University; William Hendrix, Principal and Design Director with Perkins + Will Architects; Rich Hubacker, Director of Sustainable Design for Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects; Brian Kriz, Senior VP with HITT Contracting Inc.; Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Curator at the National Building Museum and Professor of Architecture at Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University's Washington/Alexandria Architecture Consortium; Travis L. Price III, FAIA, Principal of Travis Price Architects; and Ken Sandler, Green Building Program Coordinator for the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Member of the Year Award: Chip Akridge, Founder and Chairman of Akridge Real Estate Services, received the chapter's 2009 "Member of the Year" award. The award recognizes an individual who is a long-time practitioner of sustainability and environmental steward. Mr. Akridge's efforts to raise awareness and funding for restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and the National Mall and his leadership to make sustainability a priority at his company demonstrate a profound contribution to the green building community in the National Capital Region.
Member Firm of the Year Award for a Client Firm was awarded to Discovery Communications. Discovery Communications' choice of downtown Silver Spring, Maryland for their corporate headquarters was one of the driving factors in revitalizing that urban area.
Member Firm of the Year Award for a Design Firm was awarded to Envision Design for their committed mission of environmental innovation and contribution to the design of many of the nation's top environmental organizations. Envision also assisted many major corporations in transitioning into LEED office spaces.
Member Firm of the Year Award for a Construction Firm was awarded to Clark Construction Group, LLC for their efforts to improve their corporate sustainability and their continued excellence in all of their LEED Projects. Their commitment to sustainability has led first to green practices and corporate policies, and continued to innovation on project jobsites.
The Awards Committee also recognized several outstanding projects in the region for a particular honor. The Committee presented awards for the best projects within the last year in the categories of LEED Commercial Interiors: Retail; LEED Commercial Interiors: Office; LEED Core & Shell; LEED Existing Buildings Operation & Maintenance; LEED New Construction: Major Renovation; and LEED New Construction: New Construction.
LEED Commercial Interior: Retail Project of the Year Award was presented to Forrester Construction for their Founding Farmers Restaurant in Washington DC.
LEED Commercial Interior: Office Project of the Year Award was presented to Fox Architects for their project, BP America, Inc. Government Affairs Office in Washington DC.
LEED Core & Shell Project of the Year Award was presented to SmithGroup for their project, 1331 L Street in Washington DC.
LEED Existing Buildings Operation and Maintenance Project of the Year Award was presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their headquarters in Washington DC.
LEED New Construction: Major Renovation Project of the Year Award was presented to The Christman Company in recognition of their entry, the Robert H. Smith Education Center at President Lincoln's Cottage.
LEED New Construction: New Construction Project of the Year Award was presented to SmithGroup for their project St. Mary's College of Maryland Goodpaster Hall located in St. Mary's City, MD.
Lacy Brittingham, LEED AP, Principal with Phase2 Architecture, also received recognition from the chapter as Board Member of the Year.
For more information about the National Capital Region chapter of USGBC, visit the website at www.usgbcncr.org.
ABOUT U.S. Green Building Council - The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Since USGBC's founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 16,500 member organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED green building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry's popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 78 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.
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