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N.C. State Design Team Awarded First Place at National Sustainable Design Competition Denver, Colo. – A student design team from N.C. State University was one of three teams awarded first place at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Natural Talent Design Competition. Team members Andrew Darab, Frank Giordano, Eric Jabaley, K.C. Kurtz and Susan Ungerleider competed during the USGBC Greenbuild conference, where more than 13,000 attendees from around the world had the opportunity to view their design. The team represented North Carolina after winning the statewide N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition coordinated by Advanced Energy and the Triangle Emerging Green Builders. The team was guided by N.C. State University professor, Tom Barrie and mentor, Randy Lanou of BuildSense. The winning design, which is currently being constructed by three North Carolina Habitat for Humanity affiliates (Catawba Valley, Chatham County and Orange County) integrates sustainable design strategies that could be used by all income levels. Innovations include $46 per square foot materials costs, passive solar design, energy efficient construction and universal accessibility. Upon receiving the award the team responded, “The design competition allowed for an education that both deepened and broadened the traditional architecture curriculum. Our challenge was to bring affordability, sustainability and accessibility to the conventional housing market. Our hope is that we will become good stewards of the knowledge and experience we have gained through this process and that we can effectively pass on our passion and commitment to sustainable design.” The N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition works with colleges to integrate the principles of sustainability into college-level design and construction curriculums. Each year participating schools hold a local competition to determine the teams advancing to the state competition. Students receive cash prizes but also the opportunity to see their winning design built and an all expenses paid trip to the USGBC Greenbuild conference. Some of the many organizations and individuals that have helped make this program successful include Advanced Energy, Architectural Energy Corp., Building Green, Catawba County Habitat for Humanity, Chatham County Habitat for Humanity, Cherokee Investment Partners, Duke Energy, N.C. Electric Membership Corp., SystemVision, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Orange County Habitat for Humanity, Progress Energy, Triangle Emerging Green Builders, N.C. Electricities, U.S. Green Building Council Triangle Chapter and Weaver Cooke Construction. The N.C. Sustainable Building Design Program is an initiative of Advanced Energy. Advanced Energy helps the building industry produce better products while increasing profits and avoiding callbacks. Advanced Energy accomplishes this by providing training, consultation and applied research to improve the health, safety, durability, comfort and energy efficiency of houses and small commercial buildings. The Emerging Green Builders (EGB) Committee, a young professional group associated with the USGBC, is a national organization that focuses on incorporating students and young professionals into the green building movement. The Triangle EGB Committee is just over one year old with well over 200 members. One of nearly 70 local groups around the United States and beyond, the Triangle EGB is one of the largest and strongest throughout the states, in both events and members.
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