NC Sustainable Building Design Competition
Competition Background NCSBDC 2009
Building Resources Industry Standards Universal Design Resources
Sponsors (see below) 2010 FAQ (see below)
Registrants: Please put ATTN: Traci Rider when sending in your local registration so that it is placed in the correct box.
North Carolina Sustainable Building Design Competition 2010 - SCHEDULE
March 13, 2010: The last day to register for the local/state competitions
April 7, 2010: Local judging results to be submitted for inclusion to the state competition
North Carolina Sustainable Building Design Competition - 2010
It is now time for students and professors to begin working on designing a home which utilizes sustainable technologies. The USGBC will be working this year with The Salvation Army in gathering student and young professionally designs for homes to be built in New Orleans, LA. The neighborhood where the homes are to be built is the Broadmoore Neighborhood. Designed homes are required to be LEED for Home certified at the Platinum Level and to be between 720 and 880 square feed of living space. The primary demographic of the Broadmoore Neighborhood are elderly individuals and couples so homes should meet needs that may come across with such a population.
Detailed Information can be found at USGBC Design Competition.
Detailed submission criteria and requirements can be found on the Open Architecture Network.
The N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition [NCSBDC] began in 2000 as a way to engage students in universities, colleges and community colleges to learn and apply the lessons of sustainable design and construction. Each year statewide winners see their design built as part of the grand prize. The program is currently administered by Advanced Energy and began as a collaboration with the Triangle Emerging Green Builder Natural Talent Design Competition in 2006.
Growing crises in water and air quality call for vast changes in building design, materials and methods of construction. It is imperative that the retrofit of existing buildings and design of new buildings embody the innovation needed to forge an ecologically sustainable future — that is a future which is healthy and viable for the planet and all its inhabitants. The North Carolina Sustainable Building Design Competition [NCSBDC] emerged to address the growing concerns over ecological sustainability and the role of the design building industries for a healthy, viable future. The NCSBDC’s goals lead toward this future by:
- Developing student competency in sustainable building design
- Fostering meaningful exchange between industry and academia
- Ushering innovation into the design and building industry relative to sustainability
It is our desire that all new and remodeling construction projects employ sustainable guidelines. It is hoped that these practices will spur the development of guideline specifications for four zones in North Carolina (coastal, coastal plain, piedmont, mountain), and, this model (based on geographical zones) will spread throughout the United States and the world.
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Interested in helping support the North Carolina Sustanable Building Design Competition? Contact us!
2010 FAQ
1. What are the size requirements for the boards?
The requirements outlined at the national level are also the requirements for the state level. Please see the Open Architecture network page for these requirements: http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/node/5825/requirements
Please check the posting frequently in case of modifications by USGBC.
The space provided at the state judging site in Raleigh will be approximately 60sf and maximum 8’ tall. It is up to your team as to how to fill the remainder of the space (additional boards, model, nothing, etc).
2. Are there size requirements for the model?
No model is required for either level of the competition. Should your team decide to include a model at the state level, it will need to fit inside the designated display area of 60 sf.
3. How do we get access to the LEED rating system, and can we use a different program if we choose to?
LEED for Homes can be accessed at: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=147
As noted in the Natural Talent Rules, “The designed house must demonstrate the ability to achieve Platinum certification in USGBC’s LEED Rating System. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification of a Competition Entry.”
4. Where can we find cost estimation software?
There is no energy analysis required. A Cost Estimation Template can be found at http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/node/5825/resources.
5. How large is this year’s design to be and at what cost?
Qualifying submissions should have between 720 and 880 square feet of living space, should not exceed $100,000 in construction costs, and must indicate the ability to achieve LEED for Homes Platinum certification.
For full details, see the Open Architecture network page for these requirements: http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/node/5825/requirements Please check the posting frequently in case of modifications by USGBC.
6. I see there are two competition categories. How do these work?
Student entries and Emerging Professional entries will be judged separately and one entry from each group will be submitted to compete at the national level. For definitions of these two groups, see the USGBC 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition Official Rules document at http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/competitions/naturaltalent/2010
7. Since the homes are being built for the New Orleans area, what should we take into consideration when designing the models?
For all considerations, see the USGBC 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition Official Rules document at http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/competitions/naturaltalent/2010
8. Where do I submit questions about the competition program’s technical issues, including questions about tax credits?
Once a team is registered for the national competition through Open Architecture network, they have the ability to submit technical questions. The team needs to be registered to do so. Any questions concerning the program such as those below need to be submitted through this online tool.
8a. What specific standard are we using for accessibility? Full commercial accessibility code? I assume that this standard applies to the house overall, the full bath, and the kitchen, but not to the half bath. In other words, that we do not need two fully accessible bathrooms.
Answer from USGBC: Full commercial accessibility code. Designs must be ADA and Universal Design Compliant. According to ADA, if the full bathroom is accessible to all, the half bath does not need to be ADA compliant.
8b. Should donated products be included in our estimate? In other words, if the students wrangle a donation for a specific component, do they count the typical or market cost?
Answer from USGBC: The cost of all materials used in building the house should be included in the cost estimation. Entrants should focus on designing and not on sourcing donated materials. While donations are great, they are not replicable.
8c. Is gray water available through the municipality?
Answer from USGBC: Unfortunately, the state of Louisiana does not allow the use of gray water indoors. However, captured rain water can be used for irrigation outdoors.
8d. Where the LEED for Homes Rating System requires an outside professional, irrigation or landscape for example, can the students postpone engagement of the professional until after the competition?
Answer from USGBC: Again, students should focus on design. Landscape and irrigation may be crucial in designing to achieve LEED for Homes Platinum Certification, so students can feel free to engage outside professionals. However, they absolutely MAY NOT pay any person for advice or design help. If students are unfamiliar with landscape design or irrigation, I suggest they contact students in the field at their university or another in North Carolina. Finally, they are not required to engage professionals for advice or guidance.
9. Are students required to be full-time student in an accredited program to register for the NCSBDC?
Answer from USGBC: Yes. For eligibility requirements, see the USGBC 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition Official Rules document at http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/competitions/naturaltalent/2010
10. Are students who register for NCSBDC required to be enrolled in AIA, Building Science, or other related courses?
No. For eligibility requirements, see the USGBC 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition Official Rules document at http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/competitions/naturaltalent/2010
11. Are part-time students eligible?
Answer from USGBC: Part-time students do not count in the student category. This is intended to ensure that only full-time students participate in the student category. Part-time students should sign up under the Emerging Professionals category.
12. Is there a local and state competition like years past where teams had displays and design boards set up in their given area?
Yes, there are going to be both local and state competitions like last year. The local competition is to be arranged by your school's spirit leader. There will be two teams chosen at your local level to participate in the state competition on April 17 in Raleigh.
13. What is the schedule for local competitions?
Local competitions are held at each school and are arranged by the school’s Spirit Leader. The local competition schedules are to be set by local Spirit Leaders as well.
14. What is the judging criterion for each level?
The state competition will use the judging criteria set out by USGBC national for the national judging; local competitions are strongly encouraged to use these criteria as well.
Per a USGBC competition conference call on Feb 8, 2010, the judging criteria will be:
• Broadmoor Neighborhood Context – 30 points
• Interior Design and Smart Flow – 20 points
• Cost Estimation – 20 points
• Achieving LEED for Homes Platinum – 20 points
• Inclusive Design for Elderly Occupants – 10 points
• Educating Occupants – 10 points
• Hurricane Resistance – 10 points
These criteria can be found on the Open Architecture network at http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/competitions/naturaltalent/2010 and should be updated to reflect these new parameters.
15. Teams have spent considerable time researching the codes for piling spacing. In NC, there is a section in the code regarding this and it is very simple and straight forward. As NOLA uses the ICC, the only statement there is for an engineer to do the layout. Nothing on spacing requirements. All the houses in the 4th Ward use a row of columns along the 2 exterior side walls and no columns underneath the house. The floor trusses span the width. As the competition lot is only 30' wide, it seems the same system/spacing used in 4th Ward can be applied here. Only difference appears to be the height. I don't think it is the intention for the students to have to obtain an engineer to do the structural foundation plans.
Answer from USGBC: We haven’t taken this step. Essentially, New Orleans Codes state that a building does not need to meet certain codes provided there is an established precedent in the neighborhood that goes against the code. For example, if a code states that all setbacks must be 20’ in the front yard, but all the setbacks on the street where you are building are only 10’, you are allowed to use only a 10’ setback.
Regarding pilings, the setup discussed in the question is fine. Students do not need to get an engineer to create the design, and the pilings around the exterior space (as discussed in the question) are quite common.
