OFF GRID 2.0 Ideas Competition: Healing the Damaged Edge

The 24-hour life of the urban fabric of our communities is affecting not only the natural environment, but human health and wellbeing. As the human “footprint” continues to expand, issues surrounding sustainability rise to the forefront. The design and construction industry’s efforts to improve building performance are slowly being adopted…but now is the time to develop unique solutions to respond to these global problems. The California Architectural Foundation challenges architects, students, designers, planners, and all interested individuals to develop solutions to reduce the environmental impacts on our planet, slow urban sprawl, and discover innovative ways to effectively reuse existing resources. The California Architectural Foundation, through the William Turnbull Jr., Environmental Education prize program, is furthering the general public’s understanding about the synergistic relationship between the built and natural environment in California.
The competition involves finding sustainable solutions for urban infill projects with a zero carbon footprint. These solutions do not necessarily require a built solution – concepts could include providing innovative community development strategies, development of sustainable public policies, infill development concepts, natural resource conservation, multicultural issues, or creation of new materials or systems.

Eligibility
This competition is open to all residents of California. Funding for the program is from the California Architectural Foundation.

Only one (1) application per person. Employees of the California Architectural Foundation or the American Institute of Architects, California Council, the competition’s participating sponsors and their firms, employees of other Architectural Foundations, and members of the immediate family of any such persons are not eligible to participate and win. The term “immediate family” includes spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren, whether as “in-laws,” or by current or past marriage(s), remarriage(s), adoption, co-habitation or other family extension, and any other persons residing at the same household and/or sharing information whether or not related.

Awards
Awards will be considered in two categories: Student and Professional. For submission purposes, a Student is defined as an individual or team currently enrolled in a California College or University. The Professional category is open to anyone currently residing in California.

The most highly ranked submissions will receive cash prizes totaling $12,500. The award recipients will receive recognition as the “2009 William Turnbull Prize” winners at the 2009 Monterey Design Conference.

Student Category
Honor Award - $2,500   Merit Award - $1,250

Professional Category
Honor Award - $2,500   Merit Award - $1,250

One of the Honor Award projects will be recognized as the top award winner. An additional Environmental Prize of $5,000 will be distributed to an accredited school of architecture in the State of California, to be named by the winner, to further sustainable design research. This “2009 William Turnbull Prize” to the selected school will be given in the name of both the top award winner and the California Architectural Foundation. Award winning submissions will be published in the Fall of 2009 in arcCA.

Competition Jury
Hsin-Ming Fung, AIA - Hodgetts & Fung Design Associates
Mary E. Griffin, FAIA – Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects
John King – San Francisco Chronicle
Peter M. Saucerman, AIA - Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects
Mark W. Steele, FAIA, AICP - M.W. Steele Group, Inc.

Applications due July 15, 2009, Entries due July 30, 2009

http://www.caf-e.org/offgrid.htm