The Leading Edge Student Design Competition seeks to support and enhance the study of sustainable and energy-efficient building practices in Architectural Education. Now in our 13th year, we invite students and instructors of Architecture and Design to use the competition as a framework to explore the use of new materials and strategies for building, and the integration of aesthetics and technology for high-performing, cutting edge architecture.

This year, the competition will focus on public buildings in the coastal environment of Southern California. Students entering Challenge 1 will design an Environmental Museum and Interpretive Center and students entering Challenge 2 will design a Park Office and Snack Bar. Both buildings will be located in the new Orange County Great Park, in Irvine, California.

COMPETITION OBJECTIVES

The competition objectives are to encourage and reward excellence in architectural planning and design that integrates environmentally responsive design strategies.

Competition participants will have the opportunity to:
-Explore energy efficiency as a basic standard of building design.
-Incorporate principles of sustainability in the choice of building materials, water use, building design, and building site.
-Investigate new building materials & methodologies that contribute to sustainable or energyefficient building design.
-Understand the impact of solar orientation, wind orientation, building massing, construction methods, and material choices on building function and energy use.
-Develop an awareness of appropriate technology for particular building types, regional climates, and site location.
-Explore state-of-the-art computer modeling methods for predicting and evaluating the impact of design decisions on building performance.

PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY

The Competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students of architecture, engineering, drafting, and environmental design at two-year colleges, technical schools, fourand five-year colleges and universities. Students may enter as individuals or teams. The competition may be treated as a class project or a separate independent study. A faculty member must supervise all participants.

The competition is divided into two levels or challenges: Challenge 1 for all students above the second year of their training (i.e. third year through graduate students) and Challenge 2 for first and second year students. Teams comprised of students at both levels must enter Challenge 1.

Instructors are responsible for evaluating the students?class standings and determining which challenge the students will enter.

DURATION OF THE COMPETITION

The duration of the competition will be any consecutive ten-week period within an academic quarter or semester. Completed entries may be submitted prior to the submission deadline. See below for submission address.

COMPETITION SCHEDULE

March 31, 2006 Final Registration Deadline
April 14, 2006 Final Deadline for Submission of Questions Regarding Competition
Program, Site, and Submission Requirements
April 21, 2006 Final posting of Questions and Answers on the Web Site
June 16, 2006 Deadline for Receipt of Entries
August 31, 2006 Winners Notified and Posted on Web Site
September 8, 2006 Judges Comments for All Entries Posted on the Web Site

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Questions and answers may be submitted to the Competition Program Manager at any time during the competition time period up to the question deadline. All questions and answers will be available on the web site for all competitors to review. The final question submission deadline and posting of answers will be as indicated above.

AWARDS

The first place entry in Challenge 1 and Challenge 2 will each receive $3,000. The second place entry for each challenge will receive $2,000. In addition the jury may award a number of Certificates of Merit to projects that show outstanding effort in specific areas. The school, college, or university sponsor will receive $1,500 for sponsoring the first place entry and $1,000 for sponsoring the second place entry. The competition reserves the right not to award first or
second place awards if no entry is deemed worthy by the jury.

JURY
Juries of technical and design experts will evaluate all entries that meet the entrance requirements. The jurors are selected for their design experience and knowledge of energy efficient and environmentally responsive design and construction. Design jurors are:

Design Jury
Gregg D. Ander, FAIA
Southern California Edison
Prof. Margot McDonald, AIA, LEED-ap
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Hank Koning, FAIA, FRAIA
Koning Eizenberg Architecture

SPONSORS
California Energy Commission www.energy.ca.gov
New Buildings Institute, Inc. www.newbuildings.org
Owens Corning www.owenscorning.com
Pacific Gas and Electric www.pge.com
Sacramento Municipal Utility District www.smud.org
Southern California Edison www.sce.com

CORRESPONDENCE
All correspondence regarding the competition:
Pat Heatherly
Leading Edge Competition Program Manager
Email: pat@newbuildings.org
All registration will be online at the competition web site www.leadingedgecompetition.org.
All competition entry boards should be delivered to:
Lisa McNamara
Southern California Edison
6042 N. Irwindale Avenue, Suite B
Irwindale, CA 91702
(626) 815-7248