by Brian Libby

Whether it's oil drilling, salmon depletion due to hydroelectric dams, or renewed interest in nuclear power, this has not been a good year for environmentalism.

So when architects, engineers, and developers gathered in Portland, Oregon recently for the Architecture + Energy Awards, one couldn't help but acknowledge that this celebration of sustainable design comes amid tough times.

"I've tried to find something good to say about the first six months of Bush and Cheney, and it's been difficult," joked juror Raymond Cole of the University of British Columbia in his opening remarks. "But I think when it's all said and done we're witnessing the last gasp of the petroleum era."

A program of the American Institute of Architects/Portland Chapter, the Architecture + Energy Awards have heretofore been restricted to western states. For the first time this year they have expanded to a national scope.

Frustratingly, this year's competition only attracted eleven entries. "It's a tremendous learning experience," said Cole, "which hopefully will grow in the years ahead."

Winning Designs

One of the four awards went to TLMS Architecture for the California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco. Originally a bus repair facility on a contaminated brownfield site in the inner city, this project was a transformation of a building most clients would have preferred to demolish.

A modernist bus repair facility originally built by SOM is remade as the California College of Arts & Crafts in San Francisco, by TLMS Architecture, winner of an Architecture + Energy Award. Photo: Richard Barnes The jury applauded the Food for Lane County building as a simple, no-frills design, incorporating a host of sustainable features on a small budget. Photo: Lightworks Photography   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.