GreenWORKS for Affordable Housing

The City of Santa Fe and Enterprise Green Communities are sponsoring GreenWORKS, an architectural design competition in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The contest judging and entries will be presented at Santa Fe Complex on January 23. The entries will remain available for public viewing at the complex until mid-February.

The competition challenges designers to incorporate sustainable design and affordably-priced housing into a site plan for a multi-unit, residential housing compound in downtown Santa Fe. Located in the Westside-Guadalupe historic district, the vacant site is 1/4 acre and zoned to allow at least five homes. Two homes are required to be affordably-priced, according to the Santa Fe Homes Program.

Entrants provide a realistic development budget that addresses the required affordability program as well as the costs of using cost-effective, sustainable design and building methods. Their designs will be judged on how well they comply with a green building checklist that incorporates Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and the City of Santa Fe’s Draft Green Building Code. Other criteria for the competition include how well entrants integrate the historic character of the neighborhood into their design and respond to community input into the design process.

Three awards will be given to allocate $10,000 in prize money, as determined by a jury composed of nationally recognized professionals, local experts and community leaders. On Jan. 23, 2009, an open house at Santa Fe Complex will provide an opportunity for the public to view the entries and vote for the Peoples ChoiceAward. The jury will meet on January 23, 2009 to determine the other two awards and the finalists/winner(s) will be announced at a press event at the end of the day. Confirmed jurors include: Gillian Allessio, City of Santa Fe Police Department; Chris Calvert, City Councilor, City of Santa Fe; Trisha Miller, Enterprise Green Communities; Lillian Montoya-Rael, Financial Advisor/Planner; Michael Pyatok, Architect, Pyatok Associates; Bill Roth, Builder, Clear Creek Management Corp.

For more information, visit the GreenWorks website.