Infill Philadelphia: Soak It Up! Design Awards Finalists to Compete
The Philadelphia Water Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Community Design Collaborative will host the Infill Philadelphia: Soak It Up! Design Awards on Thursday, March 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, located at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pa.
Infill Philadelphia: Soak It Up! design competition challenged designers, engineers and other sustainability professionals to show how green storm water infrastructure can transform Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. The competition focused on three sites located in Philadelphia, each representing a unique urban storm water management challenge.
Nine finalist teams have been chosen by a jury of experts in the fields of design, engineering, sustainability and community development to present their ideas at the Design Awards. Three winners, one for each competition site, will each receive $10,000 prizes.
The innovative designs generated by the competition will serve as prototypes for green storm water infrastructure projects, illustrate the potential for public/private partnerships and aid property owners in seeing the return on investment.
The design competition is part of Infill Philadelphia: Soak It Up!—an 18-month partnership of the Philadelphia Water Department, EPA and Community Design collaborative to revitalize urban neighborhoods through the adoption of green storm water management in the Philadelphia region. These methods are outlined in Green City, Clean Waters, Philadelphia’s $2 billion, 25-year plan to protect and enhance the city’s waterways by managing storm water primarily through innovative green storm water infrastructure.
Beth Miller, executive director of the Community Design Collaborative, says, “We wanted to bring creative, interdisciplinary thinking with a strong design focus to this critical issue. The design competition generated a total of 28 submissions and engaged 94 firms and 230 professionals.”
Click here for more information on the design sites and the finalists.
Source: Community Design Collaborative