Outdated insulation, heating and cooling systems mean that most older buildings are inefficient by today’s green standards. The urban environment accounts for a large percentage of carbon emissions in major cities around the world.
The Zerofootprint Re-Skinning Awards calls on the most creative minds in architecture, design and engineering to submit ideas for green building projects that demonstrate the innovative use of energy retrofitting technologies.
An initiative of Zerofootprint, an organisation fighting against global climate change, and the John H Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, the competition celebrates the most successful building retroftting projects from around the world.
Retroftting and re-skinning involves the use of design solutions to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of older, energy-ineffcient buildings. A panel of experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, sustainability and design will judge the entries while “green leaders" will serve as advisors.
Winning entries will be judged on a set of criteria including resource and operational efficiency, aesthetics, reproducibility, the use of information technology to make building smarter and the social benefits resulting from retrofitting.
The deadline for submissions is 31 August 2011. Visit The Zerofootprint Prize for more information.