FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2015
MEDIA CONTACTS
Jessica Knickerbocker, Environmental Services, jknicker@cityoftacoma.org, (253) 502-2119
Three Design Teams Captured Top Awards in First ‘Tacoma Green Infrastructure Challenge’
On Thursday, March 5, three teams received top honors for their innovative visions in the first-ever ‘Tacoma Green Infrastructure Challenge.’ During this sold-out finals event, held at the University of Washington Tacoma,finalist teams presented to fellow competitors, spectators and a panel of judges consisting of local leaders in the field of sustainable development.
Capturing the award for green roadway design, for the City of Tacoma sponsored South Tacoma Way business district site, was the “Keep it Green” team from KPG. KPG is a local engineering firm in Tacoma known for sustainable Greenroad® designs.
This team also received the People’s Choice trophy for their Team 101 design board. Public voting was conducted online for a week and at the event, with over 900 votes received from around the country.
First place team for the design of an industrial redevelopment site, sponsored by the Port of Tacoma, was the ASCE Sustainability Committee. This team included members from Basalite, BergerABAM,Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, Jacobs, Paladino and Company, Ridolfi, and students from University of Washington and Colorado State University. A high bar was set by this team for water quality and sustainability for industrial sites with Envision™.
Top honors in the urban redevelopment of the SERA Athletic Fields, the Metro Parks Tacoma sponsored site, went to Contour Engineering, Nature by Design and a student from St. Martin’s University. This team developed a clear strategy for integrating green infrastructure elements in a cohesive and cost-effective solution for the site.
The winning team in each of the three categories received a $5,000 cash prize and a trophy.
This was the first such competition inthe Pacific Northwest. Similar competitions have been held in about a dozen other cities, but Tacoma’s desire for new ideas and innovation placed an emphasis on forming multi-disciplinary teams and integrating students from several universities.
This design competition was developed through a partnership between the City of Tacoma, Port of Tacoma, Metro Parks Tacoma, University of Washington Tacoma and the Center for Urban Waters. For more information, visit cityoftacoma.org/tgichallenge.
Look for highlights of these designs and the teams in the spring edition of Urban Green.
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