Crosland Selects Schneider Corp. as Sustainable Design Challenge Winner for Transit-Oriented Infill Redevelopment

Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 26, 2008 – With the upcoming redevelopment of its former headquarters into a 33-acre transit-oriented urban village, Crosland knew it had an ideal opportunity to demonstrate sustainable development practices. Architectural, engineering, planning and construction professionals from as far away as Australia agreed, submitting 12 entries in Crosland’s “Sustainable Placemaking Design Challenge.”

Crosland’s 16-member interdisciplinary “Green Team” narrowed the 12 submissions down to five final teams, who were then invited to present their ideas to a smaller panel of judges including Todd Mansfield, chairman and CEO of Crosland.

“The amount of effort and passion that the teams put forth in responding to the challenge was overwhelming,” said Jenny Vallimont, Crosland’s manager of sustainability. “The submissions from the multidisciplinary teams reinforced the importance of having an integrated design process from day one to create a more holistic product.”

After hearing presentations by the five finalists, Crosland selected a winning team which submitted such ideas as:

• An art wall made of recycled steel, salvaged from the existing commercial buildings, that will double as a tank to hold approximately 15,000 gallons of rainwater for irrigation. A visual icon for Crosland Greens, the artwall will serve as a screen for projected art displays in the plaza. The wall can also be used to project movies during community events.
• An urban agricultural program to create community gardens in hopes of partnering with the city of Charlotte.
• A transportation advocacy group promoting innovative practices such as car sharing, to further leverage the project’s location along Charlotte’s new light-rail line.
• Passive solar techniques, such as reflective panels on structures to bounce sunlight into buildings, which will result in energy savings for office and residential users.

The winning team named itself EarthC.R.E.W. (Collective Responsibility for Environmental Worldview) and consisted of the following members:

• Christopher D. Smith – Schneider Corp.
• Jim Gleeson – Design Integration
• Diedra Case – Design Workshop Inc.
• Joe LaMantia – LaMantia Studios
• Derek McGarry – Refresco
• Aaron Newton – Outdoor Living DPM
• Milt Rhodes – New Urban Water Works

The team chose the name EarthC.R.E.W. based on Marshall McLuhan’s famous quote, “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.”

EarthC.R.E.W. was selected as the winner because of its comprehensive approach to the challenge and its thoughtful application of three components of sustainability: the team considered not only the environmental aspects of the proposed elements, but their economic viability as well as their social impact on the community.

“Years of LEED/green projects and consensus-building have taught us that the only way to achieve major green values is through a holistic, integrated process with a set of expanded goals,” said Gleeson, a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional. “Our effort was about more than just maximizing a single infill project along South Boulevard in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is about rethinking development and creating a model sustainable community.”

Smith, the EarthC.R.E.W. team captain, said his group spent about 500 hours on the entry, including 150 hours on an animated video that showed the proposed design elements in action. For its efforts, EarthC.R.E.W. was awarded $10,000 to be donated to a sustainable charity of its choice. The group opted to split the money: half was given to nonprofit environmental group Sustainable North Carolina, with funds earmarked to help establish a Charlotte office; the other half has been designated for nearby Sedgefield elementary and middle schools to create an interactive program teaching the principles of sustainability. Sustainable North Carolina was presented a check on Sept. 25 at the organization’s monthly meeting, during which EarthC.R.E.W. members shared their Crosland Greens concepts with other industry leaders.

The other finalist teams included professionals from LandDesign, LS3P Architecture, BB+M Architecture, Cole Jenest & Stone, Choate Construction, Gensler Architecture, Neighboring Concepts, Elm Engineering, McCracken and Lopez, DH Griffin, S&ME, Barrett Woodyard & Associates and Audubon International.

Located less than three miles from uptown Charlotte, at the Scaleybark light rail station on South Boulevard, Crosland Greens will be a mixed-use, transit-oriented village incorporating retail and office uses, a civic building, single-family homes, townhomes and apartments. Construction is expected to begin in 2009.

Previously known as Crosland Centre, the site was Crosland’s headquarters from 1978 to 2004. The new community name stems from a series of village greens and pocket parks that will enable the preservation of several large oaks.

Crosland intends to incorporate elements from the various entries not only at Crosland Greens, but in other company projects as well. One of the goals of the challenge was to expand Crosland’s consultant relationships and increase the ongoing dialogue and collaboration between firms in the development industry, a process that was evident in all of the contest submissions.

“These are ideas that are implementable,” said Vallimont, who is one of seven LEED AP associates at Crosland. “Our goal is not just to make Crosland developments more sustainable, but to elevate community-wide expectations to implement practices that are successful from an economic, environmental and social perspective.”