Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the American Institute of Architects, California Council (AIACC) announce the sixth annual Architecture at Zero competition for zero net energy (ZNE) building designs.
Partnering with San Francisco State University, this year’s competition challenges students and professionals worldwide to develop designs for undergraduate student housing that are ZNE buildings. These structures produce as much clean energy as used during a year through a combination of energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy generation. Winners will be chosen by a panel of international experts and are awarded up to $25,000 in total prizes.
“The American Institute of Architects, California Council is excited to collaborate on this important initiative that affirms the role of architects in leading efforts to use design to curtail climate change,” said Mike Malinowski, AIACC President.
The competition strives to generate new, innovative ideas for ZNE construction to help achieve California’s goal for all new residential construction to be ZNE by 2020 and all new commercial construction to be ZNE by 2030. Last year’s competition spurred state-of-the-art designs for multi-family housing at University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) Mission Bay campus.
“PG&E is proud to sponsor Architecture at Zero for the sixth year in a row. This competition showcases the zero net energy designs available today that drive energy efficiency in our local communities and build towards California’s clean energy future,” said Vincent Davis, PG&E’s Senior Director of Energy Efficiency Programs, Policy and Strategy.
“Given San Francisco State University’s commitment to building healthy, vibrant and safe housing for students, we are delighted to partner with PG&E on this competition. We seek to be leaders in the California State University system by aggressively meeting or exceeding government mandates for energy efficiency. Developing zero net energy buildings on campus will contribute to meeting the challenges of climate change,” said Senior Associate Vice President and Campus Architect, Thomas Lollini, San Francisco State University.
Competition entries are due by October 28, 2016 and will be juried by a panel of international experts including Paul Torcellini, Principal Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Gregg Ander, President of Gregg D. Ander, LLC; Allison Williams, FAIA, AECOM, and others to be confirmed.
To learn more, visit www.architectureatzero.com.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
