17
May
2011
|
18:00 PM
America/New_York

CertainTeed Announces Winners of Student Energy-Efficient Design Contest, Victors Head to Prague for International Competition

(Valley Forge, Pa.) — Demonstrating their expertise in sustainable, creative design, select college students across the United States have recently partnered with CertainTeed Insulation to participate in the Saint-Gobain Multi-Comfort Home Competition at the New York City Center for Architecture. Three winning teams will head to Prague on May 18 for the competition’s international stage to compete with students from 18 countries all over the world.

The competition, organized by Saint-Gobain’s global insulation business headquartered in Paris, challenged 28 teams of students drawn from Philadelphia University, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons The New School of Design, and University of Massachusetts Amherst with the daunting task of designing a sustainable 60-floor skyscraper with passive house components in a part of Lower Manhattan called Greenwich South. The building had to incorporate the components of a Multi-Comfort House with superior thermal performance, acoustic performance and fire protection, yet without conventional heating and cooling systems. This also requires higher levels of insulation than traditional methods, and use of passive means, such as solar radiation through the windows and the heat produced by occupants and appliances. The implementation of a passive house/multi-comfort design can reduce energy usage by 75 percent.

“The Multi-Comfort competition provides a terrific opportunity for architecture and design students to put their knowledge of sustainable building methods into practice,” said Paul Valle, president of CertainTeed Insulation. “CertainTeed is leading the industry with innovative, sustainable building solutions, and it is inspiring to see the next generation so passionate about building upon our achievements.”

The winners of the U.S. stage of the competition are as follows:
-First Prize, Philadelphia University — Daniel Hitchko, Jason Bottoni, Lauren Printz
-Second Prize, Rhode Island School of Design — Santiago Hinojos Reyes
-Third Prize, Parsons The New School of Design — Bless Yee, Kenneth Amoah, Hiroshi Teramae

A national jury consisting of representatives from the U.S. Passive House Institute; Architecture Research Office; Sustainable Solutions; Green Light New York; Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP; the global insulation business of Saint-Gobain and the four participating universities selected the U.S. winners. For the final stage of the competition, an independent international jury will select the three global winners from contestants from 19 countries.

CertainTeed offers a comprehensive line of insulation products and equipment, including time-tested and trusted fiberglass insulation batts and rolls, fiberglass blow-in insulation, polyurethane spray foam, innovative vapor retarder technology, and highly regarded HVAC products. The newest addition, Sustainable Insulation™, is created with the entire life cycle in mind for increased sustainability. All of CertainTeed’s insulation products can help building professionals qualify toward credits for both the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) through the U.S. Green Building Council and the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Building Program.

About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, vinyl and fibre-cement siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company and the largest global insulation company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CertainTeed earned the 2011 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. The group had total sales of approximately $3 billion in 2010. www.certainteed.com
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