By Joshua Burd
Sustainable and ecofriendly projects were in the spotlight on Wednesday night, as the U.S. Green Building Council of New Jersey handed out its annual green building awards.
The gala drew about 200 to the Palace at Somerset Park in Franklin, where the chapter recognized six recent projects in the Garden State. The crowd included a mix of design professionals and executives who are dedicated to green building, who honored a wide range of projects and initiatives including a student housing development at Princeton University and a transformative manufacturing campus in Camden.
“The companies that do these projects are very passionate,” said Ed Walsh, principal and managing director of project management services for Avison Young’s New Jersey office, who emceed the event.
This year’s awards included:
LEED Project of the Year – Interiors: TD Bank – Princeton Store (TD Bank Group)
- TD Bank Group, Core States Group, Builders Inc., Delos Solutions
LEED Project of the Year – Residential: Lakeside Graduate Apartments, Princeton University (American Campus Communities)
- American Campus Communities, Princeton University, Studio Ma, Steven Winter Associates, Dagher Engineering, Costanza Builders
LEED Project of the Year – Campus: Holtec International Technology Campus (Holtec International)
- Holtec International, USA Architects, T&M Associates, Joseph Jingoli & Son, Concord Engineering, O’Donnell & Naccarato, Structural Engineers
Innovation and Sustainability Best Practices – Public: Southwest Resiliency Park, Hoboken
- City of Hoboken, Starr Whitehouse Landscape, Architects & Planners, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Dagher Engineering, Suburban Consulting Engineers
Innovation and Sustainability Best Practices – Materials And Resources: Humanscale Living Product Challenge (Humanscale)
- Humanscale, International Living Futures Institute, Pfister Energy, 2020 Engineering
Innovation and Sustainability Best Practices – Sustainability Planning: Village Retro: Strategy for Sustainability/Ecology/Stormwater (Chambers Design in partnership with Township of South Orange Village, SO Environmental Commission and SO Green Team)
- Chambers Design in partnership with Township of South Orange Village, South Orange Environmental Commission, South Orange Green Team and South Orange Downtown Village Alliance
USGBC NJ also honored the energy company NRG for its outstanding achievement and best practices in green building and a business model that promotes initiatives for a sustainable future. Meantime, the gala featured a keynote speech by George Bandy Jr., vice president of sustainability for Mohawk Group.
Gregg Woodruff, who chairs the New Jersey chapter, said this year’s honorees matched what was a “hugely inspiring” list of award winners at the 2017 gala. He ended the night by encouraging the attendees to stay committed to showcasing green building, whether they are “a hardcore person or maybe just someone who touches sustainability tangentially”
“It’s a great group of people in this community,” said Woodruff, associate and sustainability leader with Langan Engineering and Environmental Services. “The more we get together, the more we’re talking about this, the more we can make a difference.”
