Living Future Institute, Oregon BEST launch design competition for green building materials

Enlarge Image

The Living Building Challenge Materials Red List provides a starting point of substances to avoid when creating new, greener building materials. 

Oregon BEST and the International Living Future Institute will announce Wednesday a new contest that will ask industrial designers and green building industry players to develop non-toxic, sustainable building materials for cutting-edge green buildings.

The contest is aimed squarely at the Living Building Challenge's Materials Red List, a list of toxic substances to be avoided in all materials going into buildings designed to receive the stringent Living Building designation.

"We see in the Living Building Challenge Red List an opportunity to enable Oregon to become the go-to source for Red List-ready manufacturing," said Johanna Brickman, manager of Oregon BEST's sustainable built environment program, in a press release.

The contest was launched at Oregon BEST's annual conference, BEST Fest, held Wednesday at the Left Bank building in Portland.

Online registration for the Oregon BEST Red List Challenge begins Oct. 1, and Phase One submissions are due by Jan. 18, 2013. The winning entry will receive a $10,000 cash prize, second place gets $5,000. Winners will also receive support from Oregon BEST in pursuing the commercialization of their concepts – either through the center's commercialization grant program through strategic partners.

"We view this contest as yet another way to demonstrate that the Living Building Challenge is both ambitious and achievable," said Amanda Sturgeon, vice president in charge of the Living Building Challenge at the International Living Future Institute.

Living Building Challenge sets up requirements for beautiful, healthy buildings that are net-zero energy, net-zero water, build with nontoxic materials in sustainable neighborhoods.