The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) hosted its 5th-annual Smart Environments Awards, co-sponsored by Metropolis magazine honoring the unpublished design projects that are environmentally responsible as well as beautiful, accessible and functional. 

The winners are: One Shelly Street by Clive Wilkinson Architects; Port of Portland Headquarters by ZGF Architects and Ramsey County Roseville Library by Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle.

The jury included Peter Conant, Dianne Juba, and Stacy Reed, and was moderated by Susan S. Szenasy, Editor in Chief, Metropolis and Rob Moylan of SmithGroup.

Following the half day-long judging discussions, Szenasy summarized the judges’ consensus of the entries: “Sustainable design has evolved tremendously in just the past five years,” she said. ”The Smart Environments Awards that were stellar examples of sustainable design 5 years ago, have become the mainstream for entries today.  It is encouraging to see so many firms working to integrate an intricate understanding of everything from material toxicity to manufacturing to shipping to energy use, and result in user focused environments.”

“We were pleased with the range of project types submitted,” said Rob Moylan, who helped moderate the competition for the second year in a row. “This year’s entries included projects ranging from schools, libraries and museums to restaurants, retail shops, residences and commercial office space. It’s exciting to see the design community appreciate that a Smart Environment is about more than just material selection – there’s a more thoughtful process than ever before.”

Winners will be featured in the February 2011 issue of Metropolis. To view images of the winning projects, please visit the Smart Environments Awards image gallery.