USGBC's Natural Talent Design Competition provides applied learning experience in the principles of integrated design, sustainability, and innovation, all of which are components of the LEED® Green Building Rating System™. Participants compete in local competitions, and the top winner of each moves on to compete for a national award at USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo. Awards include green building scholarships, as well as travel and registration to Greenbuild, where finalists’ entries are displayed and final judging occurs.
The 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition - REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
Registration rates are $25 per student team and $50 per emerging professional team, but will increase to $50 and $75, respectively, after March 1st.
USGBC's 2010 Natural Design Competition, in partnership with Salvation Army’s EnviRenew Initiative, will focus its sights on the rebuilding effort in New Orleans, Louisiana. Competitors will be divided into students and young professionals groups and will design a LEED for Homes project that is priced affordably and is functional for elderly occupants. Up to four designs will be selected from the local competition finalists to be showcased at Greenbuild 2010 and, for the first time, the designers will see their projects built in New Orleans’ Broadmoor neighborhood. Once the homes are built, they will enter a measurement and verification phase in which they will be graded on energy efficiency, water reuse, and indoor air quality among other categories. The design team whose home performs best during measurement and verification will be awarded the final grand prize.
Download the complete Program Description
Download the Host Chapter Guidelines
Download our promotional one-pager
2010 Design Competition Webcast - Especially for Host Chapters, Schools, and Committees
Our December 2 Webcast rolled out the competition for chapters and gave them a more detailed explanation of how the process will work. The webcast included basic hosting guidelines, provided a comprehensive timeline, and helped to answer some of the many questions surrounding the competition.
Watch and listen to the Webcast
Download the Webcast PowerPoint
View a pdf version of the Webcast PowerPoint
National 2009 Competition Winners
National 1st Place Winner: Team Grow Harlem, The Emerging Green Builders of the Urban Green Council, USGBC’s New York Chapter
- Irmak Turan
- Daniel Bersohn
- Ryan Moy
- Shefali Sanghvi
- Christopher Jones
National 2nd Place Winner: Team Phoenix, USGBC North Carolina Triangle Chapter
- Patrick Gorham
- Eli Barrett
- Josh Lee
- Larry Carr
- Ron Wilson, Instructor/Advisor
Honorable Mention: Team Talud, USGBC Colorado Chapter
- Frank Romero
- Michael Deleon