A Complex Competition Trying to Alter the Built Environment for the Betterment of the Earth

Not everyone in our world knows about the idea of sustainability. That is, there are still people in our world, and even in our country, who are uneducated about the foundations of sustainable living. Even though this is the case, it does seem as if there are more and more events, competitions, and societal happenings that are based on the idea of sustainability. From the emergence of LEED certification for buildings to contests like the Solar Decathlon, these incidents have been helping to educate individuals about the ideals of sustainable living and environmentally friendly design. One of the newest competitions in sustainable construction has been the Living Building Challenge, another example of a program that is trying to change our world for the better.

As stated on their website the Living Building Challenge is “a green building certification program that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today, and acts to diminish the gap between current limits and ideal solutions” (Living Building Challenge 2012). This program is one of the newest competitions that has been trying to influence architects, developers, urban planners and many others to implement the most sustainable elements into the built environment. Similar to the process of LEED certification, the Living Building Challenge has its own set of rules, regulations, and qualifications. The challenge is comprised of seven performance areas, which include beauty, equity, site, water, energy, health, and materials. Each of these performance areas is subdivided into twenty imperatives which dictate how and why a building under this program should be built.

The Living Building Challenge is known to be one of the most difficult competitions in sustainable design. For one thing, for a building to achieve this certification it must fulfill all twenty of the imperatives. Also, to make sure a project successfully fulfills those imperatives as well as work well within its location, a project cannot be evaluated until after a year it has been built (International Living Future Institute 2012). The twenty imperatives behind the design of the project are extremely rigorous, thus promoting a design that is truly compatible with the Earth’s environments and its processes. For example, the prerequisite of net-zero water is one of the most complicated imperatives within the challenge. “Buildings attempting to be certified by the Living Building Challenge must comply through careful collection and reuse of rain and gray water. Further, storm water must never leave the site, and black wastewater has to be eliminated by the installation of evaporating composting toilets” (Kenton Living Building 2012). As shown by this one imperative, the Living Building Challenge is no “walk in the park.” This competition brings environmentally friendly design to a new level, thus trying to promote the construction of buildings and infrastructures that are truly sustainable.