At least three members of the Kendeda Building project team will be honored by the U.S. Green Building Council during USGBC’s Greenbuild conference next month in Atlanta.

Yesterday, USGBC announced that the Southface Institute has been selected, along with four other organizations, five individuals and two cities, for a 2019 Leadership Award. The Leadership Awards are “an annual recognition of the outstanding individuals and organizations at the forefront of the green building community. ”

In bestowing the award on the Atlanta nonprofit, USGBC said:

For over 40 years, Southface has made significant contributions to promoting sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance. Southface was one of the first members of USGBC and has participated in the LEED certification of more than 5,600 homes, multifamily units and commercial buildings.

Southface played a variety of roles on the Kendeda Building — among them organizing subcontractors on the project into a group called the Swarm. It also should be noted that Dennis Creech, who is now fund advisor for sustainability at the Kendeda Fund, was co-founder of Southface and ran the organization for its first 38 years.

Earlier, USGBC announced that two professionals on the project team are among the 29 to be named LEED Fellows during Greenbuild. They are:

• Ramana Koti, a Lord Aeck Sargent, which led the design team. Koti helped to select materials and products for the Kendeda Building and also wrote extensively about the project on behalf of the LAS blog, the Living Building Chronicle and other publications.
• Lauren Wallace, director of certifications and consulting at the Epsten Group. Wallace oversaw indoor air quality testing at the Kendeda Building.

The 29 soon-to-be fellows “have used LEED to deliver on key sustainability goals that have the power to improve lives and create healthier buildings and communities for us all to enjoy. Their work has contributed to the continued growth of LEED and green buildings around the world and we’re stronger because of their dedication and commitment to a better future.” USGBC CEO d Mahesh Ramanujam said in a press release.

While the Kendeda Building is best known as the first large project seeking Living Building Challenge certification from the International Living Future Institute, it also is seeking Platinum certification under LEED, which is a USGBC program.

Both the Leadership Award winners and the LEED Fellows will be recognized on the evening of Nov. 20 at the Greenbuild Leadership Awards Reception.

IMAGE AT TOP: A drone photo of the Southface Institute’s LEED Platinum campus. Courtesy Southface.