INTRODUCTION
The Lifecycle Building Challenge was launched to harvest the best thinking of students and professionals about how to design buildings to reduce the environmental impacts over an entire building's lifecycle. There's no time to waste in greening our buildings. Each year more than 100 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris are landfilled in the U.S.

In 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency's Pacific Southwest Office awarded a grant to the Chartwell School in Seaside, California, to develop the school's design for deconstruction strategies. The innovations and lessons from that grant provided the foundation for the Lifecycle Building Challenge. Chartwell School is a K-8 school that takes advantage of green building benefits to advance its mission of educating children with dyslexia and a wide range of language-related learning differences.

In designing Chartwell, EHDD Architects created techniques that allow the school's building components to be easily disassembled and reused. Chartwell is designed for adaptations as the school changes over time. Exposed utility raceways make it easy to update wiring and other technology needs. Concrete blocks are bonded so each block can be lifted out and reused rather than crushed or landfilled. Nail-free paneling can be easily removed and reused. Concrete and steel require a lot of energy to be produced and transported so the design focused on preserving the parts of the building with the most embodied energy.

The Lifecycle Building Challenge builds on the lessons learned at Chartwell School. Contestants in professional and student tiers submitted entries in component, tool and service, and building categories. The expert judging panel selected winners in each category from the highly competitive entries from across the country. Thanks to everyone who supported and participated in the Lifecycle Building Challenge. Please visit lifecyclebuilding.org to see more of the amazing ideas generated in the first year of the competition. EPA and our partners challenge you to apply lifecycle building thinking, practices, and policies to reduce waste and conserve energy.