----- Forwarded Message -----
From: The Buckminster Fuller Institute <[email protected]>
To: Searle88 <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, 8 June 2012, 0:53
Subject: The Living Building Challenge Wins 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge
Contact: Sharifah Taqi
Tel: 718.290.9283
Email: [email protected]
Challenge Website
**For Immediate Release**
VISIONARY PERFORMANCE STANDARD CATALYZING SEISMIC SHIFT IN THE WAY WE BUILD
BUILDINGS
NAMED WINNER OF 2012 BUCKMINSTER FULLER CHALLENGE
June 7, 2012 NEW YORK CITY The Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) is pleased to
announce that The Living Building Challenge, a building standard framework and
certification program that is defining the highest possible level of
environmental performance in the built environment, has been selected as the
winner of the 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. The Seattle based
non-governmental organization (NGO), envisioning a built environment that is
fully integrated with its ecosystem, was awarded $100,000 to further develop
and scale its work at an award ceremony last night at Cooper Union in New York
City.
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, named "Socially-Responsible Design's Highest
Award" by Metropolis Magazine, is the world's premier annual global competition
recognizing bold, visionary, tangible initiatives that take a comprehensive,
anticipatory, design science approach to radically advance human well being and
the health of our planet's ecosystems, named for one of the most important
futurists and visionaries of the 20th century.
"If Bucky Fuller were with us today," said Challenge Juror Kenny Ausubel, "he'd
be smiling because the Living Building Challenge exemplifies his mission
statement for humanity: 'To make the world work for 100 percent of humanity in
the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological
offense for the disadvantage of anyone.' The Living Building Challenge is
especially important at this make-it-or-break-it moment when humanity must
rapidly address climate change in disruptive, systemic ways. At a cusp when
world populations continue to place increasingly radical strains on the
biosphere, innovating on how we redesign the built environment is imperative."
The Living Building Challenge emphasizes priorities on both a technical level
and as a set of core values, engaging the broader building industry in the deep
conversations required to re-imagine business-as-usual, and transform building
occupants from passive consumers into active stewards of increasingly scarce
resources. Since 2010, when The Living Building Challenge was a Buckminster
Fuller Challenge finalist, it has gained a lot of momentum, extending its reach
well beyond its initial base in the Pacific Northwest, and is influencing sites
all over the world. They demonstrate that their principles are feasible,
replicable and translatable to a wide range of contexts, including emerging
economies and lower income neighborhoods.
There are registered Living Building Challenge projects in Australia, Canada,
France, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Romania and the United States, with
emerging projects elsewhere. In the United States alone, there are sites in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New
Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The approach inspires a new level of collaboration between building owners,
construction trade, architects, engineers and regulators. Not only do the
principles in and of themselves hold the potential to catalyze widespread
innovation within the industry, but they work training a network of ambassadors
in every country with a registered building as well as in Brazil, Chile,
Columbia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Guatemala, India,
Ireland, Spain, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, dedicated to engaging
their communities in collaboration.
Future of Fish, a nonprofit accelerator for entrepreneurs launching
market-based initiatives that drive sustainability, efficiency, and
traceability in the seafood supply chain, was named Runner-Up. It focuses
specifically on industry pioneers whose planned initiatives are directly
aligned with their own mission and whose ideas are considered too nascent to
secure traditional financing without the additional strategic and operational
support Future of Fish provides.
The Honorable Mentions were:
Eco-Fuel Africa Limited works with rural farmers in Africa to make clean
cooking fuel and organic fertilizers called biochar from agricultural waste
like coffee husks and sugarcane waste. Providing farmers with access to free
organic fertilizers, they are reducing indoor air pollution and cost of fuel,
combating deforestation, enhancing the fertility of depleted farming soils,
boosting rural incomes, and empowering communities.
The Water Retention Landscape of Tamera, is a model for natural decentralized
water management, restoration of damaged ecosystems and disaster prevention. It
is a basis for reforestation, agriculture and aquaculture, especially in
regions threatened by desertification, and is an integral part of a
comprehensive model for sustainability in water, food, energy and social
structures.
The winner was announced after a day event hosted by The Cooper Union Institute
for Sustainable Design. The day featured presentations by the winner and
runner-up, a roundtable discussion with Challenge jurors, finalists, and
Professor of Architecture at The Cooper Union, David Turnbull, and an award
ceremony. Special guest Dr. John Todd delivered a keynote address.
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge (now in its fifth year) celebrates innovation
and creativity that takes a whole-systems approach to design. The Cooper Union
Institute for Sustainable Design shares this approach and places whole-systems
thinking at the core of its philosophy. The June 6th event inaugurated a formal
partnership between the Buckminster Fuller Institute and the CUISD.
Collaboration between these groups will allow us to co-promote a series of
lectures, share resources and ideas, inspire our communities and streamline our
efforts as we work together toward our common vision of a sustainable future.
For the 2012 statements about the winner from BFI and the Jury, visit the
winner page.
Related Links
- About the Buckminster Fuller Institute: http://bfi.org
- About the Challenge: http://challenge.bfi.org/About
- 2012 semi-finalists page: http://challenge.bfi.org/2011Semi_Finalists";
- 2012 Challenge Jury: http://challenge.bfi.org/process/jurors
- Previous Entries: http://challenge.bfi.org/ideaindex
- Previous Winners:http://challenge.bfi.org/Winners
- Press: http://challenge.bfi.org/Press
- Connect on Facebook
This email is sent from: The Buckminster Fuller Institute
181 N11th St, Suite 402
Brooklyn, NY 11211
United Statesp 718 290 9280 | f 718 290 9281 | bfi.org | contact
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, click here.
To never receive email from The Buckminster Fuller Institute, click here.
_______________________________________________
P2P Foundation - Mailing list
http://www.p2pfoundation.net
https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation
