DuPage County Hosts 9th Annual Sustainable Design Challenge

Submitted by Melea Smith.

On Tuesday, April 7, 2015, students from DuPage County high schools were invited to show their “green” or “sustainable” building design projects to the public at the 9th Annual Sustainable Design Challenge for high school students held at DuPage County’s Administration Building.

Students displayed models of their designs, along with posters explaining their research and the design elements that made their building “green.” The students were guided by their teachers to incorporate design strategies from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program to both reduce environmental impact and provide occupants with a healthy, productive space. The students’ projects highlight renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines, water conservation with native plant landscaping and rain barrels, and stormwater management with permeable parking lots and vegetated roofs.

As in the previous five years of the Challenge, the students impressed everyone with their creativity, designing such unique projects as an underground bowling alley covered with a thriving green roof, utilizing stored rainwater for toilet flushing, and a light, airy vertical farm shooting into the sky from its small footprint on the ground.

The Challenge was conceived by the SCARCE team and made into reality with funding from DuPage County’s Stormwater Management Department and the Environmental Education program. SCARCE is an award-winning environmental education not-for-profit headquartered in Glen Ellyn, IL providing community and teacher education in DuPage County. SCARCE educators help county teachers to both inspire and instruct their students in “sustainable” design concepts, including taking teachers on Green Building tours and educating them on the environmental issues and cutting-edge design solutions.

York High School students, who are members of the ECO Club, participated along with their sponsor Bob Blaus. Participating were: Lauren Aloia, Spencer Bunch-Hotaling, John Chlystek, Hannah Fleckenstein, Richard George, Abby Gundrum, Jolie Gundrum, Katie Toohey, Sam Jordan-Wood, Evan Mills, Nick Soldano and Gavin Vanderberg.

For more information about the Sustainable Design Challenge and past projects, please click here.

Photo 1: York students Jolie Gundrum, Abby Gundrum, Gavin Vanderberg and John Chlystek share details of their sustainable design project with County Board member Paul Fitchner of Elmhurst.

Photo 2: County Board Chairman Dan Cronin talks with York students and ECO Club members Spencer Bunch-Hotaling, Sam Jordan-Wood and Nick Soldano about their sustainable design.

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