`WHAT IF` ATTRACTS VISIONARY THINKERS IN THE PURSUIT OF LARGE-SCALE SUSTAINABILITY
Released on = May 15, 2007, 9:01 pm
Press Release Author = agitprop media / Todd Fraser
Industry = Energy
Press Release Summary = San Francisco-based Urban Re:Vision has announced the winners from the first of five jury selections as part of a unique international competition to create the National prototype for sustainable urban living.
Press Release Body = (San Francisco, CA - May 14, 2007) - San Francisco-based Urban Re:Vision has announced the winners from the first of five jury selections as part of a unique international competition to create the National prototype for sustainable urban living.
The first stage of the competition titled Re:Volt, received hundreds of proposals from throughout the world which focused on innovative methods of incorporating "clean" energy into an urban environment.
Attracting leading sustainable designers and planners from the energy, economics, transportation, community and architecture fields, Re:Vision held the first stage of the competition on May 4th and 5th at California's first generation of truly 'green' hotels, San Francisco's The Orchard Garden Hotel. The initial phase, titled Re:Volt, focused on the creation of intelligent energies with proposals from throughout the world being judged by a jury committee consisting of key leaders from the sustainability movement.
An esteemed panel of sustainable energy experts headed by renowned architect and author Eric Corey Freed named the following winners. Each received $2,000 and will have their ideas considered for the large-scale project which is anticipated to break ground in 2008.
Sarah Attwood from San Diego, Ca for The Active Energy Play Space which provides children the opportunity to generate electricity via an innovative playground to provide cost-free nighttime lighting.
Brian McLaughlin from Hermosa Beach, CA for RECHARGE, a unique incorporation of wind and solar power energy conduits folded seamlessly into the city block.
The San Francisco team of Adam Cornelius, Steve Puma, Kate Randolph, Joy Rios, Robin Connell and Sheila Samuelson with Cell Block, which transports a once typical urban energy inefficiency to Zero Impact via an incremental melding of sustainable Energy, Transportation and Water.
Additional jurors include Dan Chiras, lecturer and author of 23 books on environmental issues, sustainability and natural building, Richard L. Stover, Ph.D. Chief Technical Officer of Energy Recovery Inc. a leader in the seawater desalination industry and Justin Gerdes, editor of e-Newsire as part of California\'s statewide energy efficiency marketing and outreach campaign; Flex Your Power and Robert Thresher, Director of the National Wind Technology Center at the U.S. Department of Energy\'s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The unprecedented competition was the brainchild of Re:Vision founder Stacey Frost who has long recognized the need for a coordination of efforts to be applied on a large scale in an urban environment.
"Our focus is on rethinking the components of a city block to make them sustainable," says Frost whose work with "New Urbanism" presents a forward-thinking approach to the connection between sustainability, economic feasibility and community involvement. "By asking the simple question 'What if..' we are providing an opportunity for the most creative minds in the sustainable energy field to develop and implement innovative solutions to the ever-increasing problems facing our urban centers."
In addition to Re:Volt, future competitions include Re:Route, which will focus on urban transportation, Re:Store, providing green innovations for a healthy economy, Re:Connect, urban planning for people and place and finally Re:Vision which will provide architectural concepts to encompass this revolutionary, sustainable community.
Upon the completion of the four-stage, conceptual Re:Vision competitions, one mayor will be awarded the opportunity to turn innovation into action with the revitalization of an entire block in their city. The fifth and final competition will then gather site-specific proposals from around the world with leading architects drawing from the unique system approaches and the invention and adaptations of existing technologies provided by the competitions winners to create their design presentations.
To help choose the most deserving city, Re:Vision is partnering with the internationally recognized ICLEI (www.iclei.org), which provides national leadership on climate protection and sustainable development to over 160 U.S cities and counties as well as The Mayors for Climate Protection (www.coolmayors.org), which provides leadership to over 400 United States mayors in promoting climate protection in cities throughout the United States.
Re:Vision founder Stacey Frost and Re:Volt jury head Eric Corey Freed are currently available to speak about the Re:Vision competition and its programs. Additional information can be found at www.urbanrevision.com.
Media inquiries may be directed to Todd Fraser of agitpropmedia at 310.278.2630 or via email at todd@agitpropmedia.com
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