COTE® Top Ten Award 2025

As Massachusetts' first net zero energy and water school, this pioneering campus sets a new standard for healthy, sustainable learning nationwide. Housing two elementary schools and a preschool, it offers vibrant educational environments while reducing environmental impact and operational costs. Located beside Fort Pond Brook, the building’s placement protects adjacent wetlands and highlights local ecosystems. Funded within a standard school budget, it is the first net zero school supported by the Massachusetts School Building Authority—a replicable model of resilience and innovation.

Coliseum Place delivers 58 affordable homes in East Oakland, supporting low-income and formerly unhoused families near major transit. The all-electric, 100% affordable project includes pedestrian-friendly design and improved transit access. An innovative decentralized hot water system dramatically reduces energy use, while biophilic elements foster comfort and resilience. Positioned in a historically underserved neighborhood, Coliseum Place provides sustainable, community-centered housing that connects residents to opportunity, green infrastructure, and the broader urban fabric, setting a precedent for equitable development.

The Davis Center for Human Ecology embodies the College of the Atlantic’s mission through a synthesis of land, sea, and sustainable architecture. The Passive House-certified academic building uses biogenic materials and connects students to the island’s ecology while advancing interdisciplinary study. As the college’s first purpose-built academic space since 1969, it supports immersive education, environmental stewardship, and community identity. The Center is both a functional learning environment and a landmark expression of the school’s values in context and performance.

Credit Human’s San Antonio headquarters reimagines the workplace through environmental stewardship and human-centered design. The building achieves a 97% reduction in potable water use, integrates solar power, and supports occupant health with clean air and natural light. Open, flexible spaces promote collaboration and vertical movement via interconnecting stairs and communal areas. As a model of sustainability and wellness, the headquarters exemplifies how corporations can align workplace culture with environmental values and adaptive, future-forward infrastructure.

Founders Hall introduces mass timber to the University of Washington campus, setting benchmarks for embodied carbon reduction and sustainable learning. The structure interweaves classrooms, offices, and gathering spaces, connected by a striking five-story stair through its wood-and-steel core. Designed for flexibility, collaboration, and community building, it supports the business school’s evolving pedagogies. As both a high-performance building and educational tool, Founders Hall reflects the social and environmental responsibilities of business in the 21st century.

At Dartmouth College, the Irving Institute for Energy and Society embodies the university’s low-carbon future with a high-performance addition to a 1970s structure. The building integrates cutting-edge systems and renovation strategies to model sustainable transformation on historic campuses. Serving students and researchers across disciplines, it functions as both workspace and teaching tool, reinforcing connections to nature and climate resilience. In a northern climate, the design demonstrates how institutions can retrofit and expand toward net-zero goals.

John Lewis Elementary School redefines green learning in Washington, DC as the first Net Zero Energy-targeted school in the district—and the world’s first to achieve dual LEED and WELL Platinum certifications. Designed for “Net Positive Education,” the building’s interactive systems, including solar panels and geothermal peeks, make sustainability tangible. Located beside Rock Creek Park, the school inspires nature-based exploration while supporting student wellness and climate literacy. It sets a global precedent for education through design excellence.

In Muscatine, Iowa, the Stanley Center for Peace and Security transformed a downtown building into a net-carbon-negative, Living Building Challenge-certified headquarters. Merging global policy work with regenerative design, the center now models climate action and equity at every scale. It revitalized the local economy, engaged trades in sustainability training, and now serves as a dynamic hub for environmental and peacebuilding leadership. The building itself furthers the center’s mission—catalyzing a peaceful, sustainable future through place-based transformation.

The Bush School’s new Upper School in Seattle stands as the largest Passive House-certified school in the Western U.S. and the first to earn Salmon Safe status. Mass plywood decking and low-carbon strategies support flexible, healthy learning environments. Protected trees and green stormwater systems integrate the building with its site, while Zero Energy certification reflects climate-conscious values. Advocated by the school community, the project ensures long-term sustainability protections—an inspiring model of student-centered, environmentally responsible education.

The Wagner Education Center in Seattle serves as the new gateway to the Center for Wooden Boats, celebrating hands-on maritime learning and heritage. A passively conditioned building, it engages users as part of the system—operable shades, doors, and skylights invite interaction with natural forces. By fostering a deep relationship between occupants, climate, and craft, the design honors tradition while embodying sustainability. The building is a tactile, responsive environment where people and place meet through the art of wooden boatmaking.