green competitions

the university of bradford has launched a sustainable student village design competition for a unique environmentally sustainable community built on its campus. the aim instead is to provide students with a self-sufficient community of terrace housing where students will share and be responsible for a house. for more information, see the fx website.

hey budding filmmakers and green enthusiasts, grab a video camera and tell the world about the steps you and your peers are taking to stop global warming, in two minutes or less. in homage to al gore's the inconvenient truth (released on dvd today), treehugger and seventh generation have launched the convenient truths video contest. they are looking for a collection of inspiring and pragmatic short videos that provide actionable answers towards stemming climate change.
sustainable prizes valued at $25,000 should get your creative green juices flowing.
(via treehugger)

urban greening

out of 33 design firms recently submitting entries for a new 32-acre state historic park on the not a cornfield site in downtown el lay, the entries from new york-based field operations, hargreaves associates of san francisco and mia lehrer and associates of los angeles have come out on top...and each with quite different proposals reports the latimes.

i definitely see the benefit in field operation's radical proposal, which includes relocating dodger's stadium to the not a cornfield site, in getting people to think outside of the box. the city needs progressive vision, as the latimes says, "to keep us from falling back into the kind of default planning mode that focuses on the short term."

however, on a sustainability front, i see more benefit in a plan such as hargraves' which makes a green statement for the city with it's low-slung structures covered with photovoltaic panels and a series of wetland habitats reaching out to the los angeles river.


mia lehrer's design calls for a similar elegant transition from urban to natural and symbolically utilized the leaf-shape of the site. lehrer's firm also benefits from the knowledge of the area from working on a new master plan for the l.a. river.

eventhough funding for the project is still up in the air, (the outcome of proposition 84 will have a big impact on this), the chosen team will ultimately make a huge statement for the city of los angeles. it is really exciting how much this competition has raised awareness and discussion about urban planning in los angeles, and has people visualizing great green possibilities beyond the current concrete jungle.

check out worldchanging for a great article about "remaking l.a.".

spread the truth about global warming...and pass the local organic pumpkin pie!

in an effort to form a global community that explores ways that design can make positive contributions to society and our environment,
design21, a social design network, has launched a design competition titled "heated issue" to design an educational awareness campaign about the issue of global warming. four cash prizes totaling $10,000 will be offered to the winners. deadline is sunday, december 10. (via treehugger)

win 2 tickets to see the outspoken ladies known as the dixie chicks at the staples center on november 24. just tell laist which one candidate, measure, or proposition you feel strongly about by 4:20 today. the dixie chicks have set a great example for other touring musicians by offsetting their carbon footprint for their 2006 world tour.

release your inner chef this thanksgiving. submit your creative and delicious 100-mile thanksgiving plans along with recipes and the farms/farmers that you get your food from by november 14th for a chance to be featured on treehugger!