Nov. 24, 2010, Contact:  Allegra Williams, (978) 446-7200 x1473, AWilliams@lowellma.gov      

City of Lowell Green Building Commission Announces Call for Green Building Excellence Award Applications

Deadline for Submission: Friday January 7, 2011

LOWELL – The Green Building Commission is accepting nominations and applications for deserving development projects that wish to compete for the City of Lowell award in Green Building Excellence.  Any interested party may nominate a development project within the City of Lowell (new construction or significant rehabilitation) that has successfully implemented best practices in sustainable design and construction.  Applications are due by the close of business Friday, January 7th, 2011.

The intent of the award program is to recognize projects that best demonstrate green building practices and to foster greater interest and adoption of green building practices community wide.

The award criteria used to determine excellence in green building will be the internationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification process.  Program categories to be considered are:

• Commercial/public /industrial/not for profit (does not include City owned or operated property)
• Residential and multi unit residential

One award in either or both categories may be awarded by the GBC.

For a full announcement and application/nomination form, please visit:

http://greenbuilding.lowellma.gov/information

About the Green Building Commission: The mission of the Green Building Commission is to promote and advocate for “green” design, construction, and development practices in the City of Lowell, through research, identification, and implementation of policies, programs, and education that will increase the sustainability and reduce the environmental impacts of building activity.

Green building extends into a broad array of concerns related to our built environment and the affects it has on our natural environment.  Green building design and construction is the accumulation of several building techniques that work to reduce the ecological footprint, or the amount of land and its resources needed to produce the energy, provide water, and materials used to construct and operate the buildings we inhabit.  Furthermore, green building methods are increasingly associated with smart growth principles that include the siting of buildings, density of development, transportation choice, and land conservation.

Please go to our web site for more information and links to other resources http://greenbuilding.lowellma.gov