The Salvation Army joins the U.S. Green Building Council this year in hosting USGBC‘s 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition. Entrants will design an affordable, 800 square foot green home for an elderly client in the Broadmoor, New Orleans neighborhood. Winners will be announced after the top four entries have been constructed, inhabited and evaluated.

Through its EnviRenew initiative, The Salvation Army is kicking off a large-scale residential green building campaign in five neighborhoods in New Orleans, facilitating the construction of 125 new homes and the renovation of 125 existing homes over the next three years through the provision of grant financing to homebuyers and homeowners. EnviRenew identifies sustainability as a critical component of comprehensive neighborhood recovery and engages green building issues within broader discussions regarding affordable housing, community capacity, neighborhood renewal and storm-resilience.

The Salvation Army and the U.S. Green Building Council recognize that financially vulnerable individuals, families, and neighborhoods are particularly in need of the benefits that sustainable design and green building practices bring. This partnership challenges entrants to design homes that demonstrate both short-term and long-term affordability, a high quality of life for their residents, and replicable strategies that contribute to our understanding of how to build affordably, efficiently and with minimal impact on the environment.

Open Architecture Network