The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and partners are calling on the nation's architects, builders and others to participate in a competition seeking designs that facilitate reuse and minimize waste. The “Lifecycle Building Challenge” — co-sponsored by the Building Materials Reuse Association, American Institute of Architects and West Coast Green — invites professionals and students nationwide to submit by May 15 designs and ideas that support cost-effective disassembly and anticipate the future use of building materials. Students, architects, reuse experts, engineers, builders, product designers, educators and environmental advocates are encouraged to participate in the web-based competition.

Open to completed projects or those on the drawing board, the challenge has three categories: Building, an entire building from foundation to roof; Component, a single building assembly, system, or connector; and, Service, a tool, method, or other idea. Outstanding entries in each category will be recognized and publicized, and top student designs will receive cash awards. Lifecycle building maximizes material recovery to reverse the trend of disposing of large quantities of construction and demolition debris in landfills.