RUNNERS-UP
by
Ken
Shulman
The Next Generation designers provide the GSA with a blueprint
for the greening of its huge stock of aging, inefficient buildings.
The challenge of this year’s Next Generation Design Competition—
to reach zero environmental impact—may have been hypothetical,
but the object was very real: a 46-year-old federal building near
the Los Angeles Civic Center. Home to various federal agencies
and the property of the U.S. General Services Administration (the
country’s largest landlord), the eight-level steel-frame structure
was the product of an era of cheap energy and big cars, with large
volumes, inefficient systems, and inoperable windows.
Being bound to an actual structure didn’t stifle the creativity of the
contestants. Myriad solutions arose to rein in energy consumption,
filter and reuse water, and modify the appearance, materials, and
uses of the existing site. One entry even featured a system that
repurposed human waste. “It was a real thrill to be able to close the
door on senior management,” says one entrant about the competition.
“To just sit down and design the best building we could think of.”
Though these proposals are unlikely to be implemented in the
near future, the efforts could prove useful in spurring more federal
buildings to go green. One team claims that if its solution were
applied to all GSA properties, it would have the effect of removing
10. 2 coal power plants, 8. 5 water-treatment plants, 176,000
automobiles, and 45,000 truckloads of waste. It’s time to sit
down and truly build the best buildings we can think of. /
This page: Courtesy Andrew Bywater. Opposite page: Courtesy Cary D’alo Place,
Jonathan LaRocca, Paul Kweton, Hide Takahashi, Marsha Bowden, and Dallas Felder
