EPA Administrator, AIA, and BMRA Presidents to Present at West Coast Green
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Steven Johnson, American Institute of Architects President RK Stewart, and Building Materials Reuse Association President Brad Guy will co-host the Lifecycle Building Challenge awards ceremony at the West Coast Green Conference, September 20th in San Francisco.
The Lifecycle Building Challenge, a national design competition, promotes building material reuse and seeks to reduce construction and demolition debris while simultaneously encouraging energy conservation. Johnson, Stewart, and Guy will present the awards for this competition at a special event on Thursday, September 20th from 12:30 - 1:30 pm in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium as part of the West Coast Green Residential Building Conference and Expo.
The awards ceremony will include the U.S. EPA Administrator's welcoming remarks and a video of the winning student and professional entries from across the nation.
"Lifecycle building innovations aim to improve the efficiency of our resource utilization and to head toward a more sustainable environment," explains Wayne Nastri, Regional Administrator for the U.S. EPA's Pacific Southwest Office in San Francisco. "This challenge raises the standard for both green building and environmental protection."
Sponsored by Green Building Blocks, the Lifecycle Building Challenge is a ground-breaking partnership between the United States Environmental Protection Agency, West Coast Green, Building Materials Reuse Association and the American Institute of Architects.
"Climate change, carbon emissions, greenhouse gases, green design - call it what you will, the need to change how we inhabit the planet to avoid catastrophic consequences is now widely accepted," says American Institute of Architects President RK Stewart. Open to professionals and college students in the US and its territories, the competition strives to change how people think about, design, construct and deconstruct buildings. Lifecycle Building Challenge encourages the advancement of the building industry lifecycle planning, inspiring the green building movement to look beyond a single iteration of a building: because buildings take a major toll on the environment, the Challenge calls upon its contestants to address real world issues.
As a scientist and 26-year veteran of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator Steven Johnson brings a strong scientific background and wealth of experience to his role as the nation's top environmental official and head of the premier environmental agency in the world. Prior to becoming Administrator, he held several senior-level positions, including Acting Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Acting Deputy Administrator, and Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. He has received numerous awards and commendations, including the Presidential Rank Award - the highest award that can be given to a civilian federal employee.
RK Stewart, inaugurated as the 2007 President of the National American Institute of Architects on December 8th, 2006, has received various awards for his contributions to the profession, including the Octavius Morgan Distinguished Service Award, the Preservation Design Award, the U.S. Institute of Theater Technology Award, and First Place in the 18th Annual Interiors Magazine Awards for Public Spaces and Entertainment.
Brad Guy, President of the Building Materials Reuse Association, is pivotal force in researching and advancing design for deconstruction and building materials reuse. He is a past recipient of The Tides Foundation Environmental Leadership Program Fellowship, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts Research Fellowship, and the University of Florida President's Humanitarian Award.
This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.