Those chosen for "top ten" are all stellar examples of sustainable architecture that helps protect the environment by reducing energy consumption, waste, and greenhouse gases; by respecting water and other natural systems as precious resources; by using local, recycled, and renewably produced materials; and by enhancing the well-being of building occupants.

Four of these projects have already been featured in ArchitectureWeek. They are EpiCenter, a LEED-Platinum art school for inner-city youth in South Boston, by Arrowstreet; Heifer International Center, an office building in Little Rock, Arkansas, designed by Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects; a model house in Santa Monica, California, designed for prefabrication by Ray Kappe, FAIA; and the light-filled yet secure Federal Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon by Morphosis.

COTE chair Kira Gould, Associate AIA, summarizes this year's selection: "This program examines metrics that address context, transportation, energy, water, light and air, and other characteristics. We are pleased to see design teams getting increasingly comfortable with such metrics, which suggests that performance standards are being effectively integrated into the design intent, rather than being understood as something separate."   >>>