Smart Environments Awards

The three winners of the Smart Environments Awards, co-sponsored by the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and Metropolis Magazine, were honored at NeoCon on June 10. Now in its third year, the awards recognize designers who assimilate beautiful design with sustainability in a creative, functional way.

The IIDA/Metropolis Smart Environments Awards (developed by Ken Wilson, principal of the Washington, D.C.-based firm Envision, along with Susan S. Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis) are part of an effort to highlight and find solutions to the human impact on the environment by honoring eco-friendly, innovative design. The awards invite entries from around the world and recognize interiors that are healthy and sustainable, as well as attractive and user-friendly.

The jury for the competition included Collin Burry, IIDA, LEED AP, principal, Gensler, San Francisco; Lewis J. Goetz, FIIDA, FAIA, president, Group Goetz Architects, Washington, D.C.; and Joe Pettipas, IIDA, IDC, ASID, ISP, LEED AP, vice president, HOK Canada. The judging, which took place April 25, was moderated by Szenasy and Holley Henderson, IIDA, LEED AP, IIDA Sustainability Forum Advisor, H2 Ecodesign.

This year, the winners of the Smart Environments Awards included the firms richärd+bauer, of Phoenix, AZ, for the sleek and environmentally friendly Arabian Branch Library, in Scottsdale, AZ; NBBJ, of Seattle, WA, for Alley24/223 Yale, in Seattle, WA; and CORE architecture + design, of Washington, D.C., for their ecologically conscious design of the restaurant sweetgreen, in Washington, D.C., which features reclaimed hickory on the floors, walls, and ceilings. The winners will be featured in the January 2009 issue of Metropolis.

“Our industry has truly owned and risen to the challenge of weaving eco-function into the DNA of our beautiful habitats,” stated Henderson. “The 2008 entries stretch beyond mundane interiors or typical green solutions.”