U.S. Green Building Council Selected as American Architectural Foundation’s 2012 Keystone Laureate
USGBC to be Honored at the Annual Accent on Architecture Gala in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The American Architectural Foundation (AAF) will present the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) with its 2012 Keystone Award at the 23rd annual Accent on Architecture Gala in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 9, 2012. AAF’s Board of Regents presents the Keystone Award annually to an individual or organization from outside the architectural discipline for exemplary design leadership that improves lives and transforms communities.
USGBC is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building certification program, robust educational offerings, a nationwide network of chapters and affiliates, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities. Over 44,000 projects are currently participating in USGBC’s LEED green building certification system, totaling over 8 billion square feet of construction space in 50 states and 120 countries.
According to Ron Bogle, president and chief executive officer of AAF, “The leadership of the U.S. Green Building Council has transformed our thinking about design. They have touched practically every building type on every continent, and their impact is potent. For example, with the launch of the Center for Green Schools, USGBC has shifted the center of gravity and brought laser focus to the global discussion on green and sustainable schools.”
AAF Board of Regents Chair G. Sandy Diehl III said, “USGBC and its programs have elevated the cause of sustainability to a new level in architecture. USGBC provides educational programs on green design, construction and operations for professionals from all sectors of the building industry. In addition, in creating Greenbuild, USGBC now hosts the largest international conference and expo focused on green building. For them, “green” isn’t a buzzword. It’s a vital goal that must be pursued through aggressive strategies with measurable and substantial impact.”
“On behalf of the entire USGBC family, we are deeply honored that AAF has chosen our organization as the 2012 recipient of its prestigious Keystone Award,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, chief executive officer and founding chair, USGBC. “In ways both small and large, architecture plays a huge role in how we relate to the world around us and with each other, and a sustainable approach to this work builds on architecture’s long tradition of creating buildings that both protect us and nourish us in countless ways.”
AAF’s Keystone Award was established in 1999. Past recipients include former Chicago Mayor Richard M.
Daley, former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. of Charleston, S.C., the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Save America’s Treasures, the philanthropic Pritzker family of Chicago, and the Office of the Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The 2011 Keystone Laureate was Amanda M. Burden, chair of the NYC Planning Commission and director of the NYC Department of City Planning.
USGBC will receive the Keystone Award at the 2012 Accent on Architecture Gala, which will take place on Friday, March 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C. The annual gala, presented by the American Architectural Foundation, is the nation’s preeminent celebration of leadership in architecture and design. At the event, AAF, in association with The United States Conference of Mayors, will also present the 2012 Joseph P. Riley Jr. Award for Leadership in Urban Design to Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter. In addition, Architectural Record will present its Good Design is Good Business Patron Award to Haworth, Inc., a global leader in the design and manufacture of office furniture and organic workspaces, as well as its Good Design is Good Business Architecture Award to the international architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM). Approximately 500 guests will attend the gala at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATION
Established in 1943 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates the public about the power of architecture to improve lives and transform communities. Through national programs including the Sustainable Cities Design Academy, Great Schools by Design, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, and the Architecture + Design Education Network, AAF promotes design leadership and literacy at the local level, where everyday decisions can have a transformative impact on the places that shape our lives and our society. Each year AAF is on the ground in more than 75 cities across the country, helping local leaders to use design as a catalyst for innovation and action.
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