2006 Sustainable Design Competition: Closing the Loop

Closing the Loop is a national design competition developed by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council in collaboration with the design community.

Because a building or community can only be as sustainable as the elements and systems it's comprised of, the competition focuses on elements and systems in the built environment (as opposed to a building in a specific location).

Competition entries can be the introduction of a new element or system to "fill the gap" of present technology, or the re-design of existing.

The goal of the competition is to eliminate the concept of "waste" that exists in our current linear system of production and building; to conserve the resources of energy, water and materials; and to create change in the built environment through the development of the winning entries.

The judging criteria will be based on life cycle analysis, and will include functionality; affordability and straightforward design; resource efficiency; recycle-ability and design for disassembly.

In addition, there will be a special award for the entry that best enhances building or district energy efficiency.

The competition is open to Canadian residents or citizens.

Winning entries will be publicly exhibited, with the opening exhibit currently scheduled to coincide with the World Urban Forum III in Vancouver in June of 2006.

Submission deadline is May 31, 2006.