The LADWP La Kretz Innovation Campus was honored as Project of the Year by the Los Angeles Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. (photo courtesy of the La Kretz Innovation Campus)

On Dec. 11, the Los Angeles chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council focused on community as it presented the ninth-annual Sustainable Innovation Awards during its 15th Green Gala.

The Project of the Year was awarded to the LADWP La Kretz Innovation Campus in downtown Los Angeles, followed by awards to seven more projects that went above and beyond in a range of categories.

The USGBC-LA also presented Community Leadership awards, which included recognizing LA Metro, Liberty Hill and Shane Eaton of Brookfield Properties, who was honored with the inaugural Kevin Devine Award.

“Our members, who design, build and operate the environments where we spend nearly 90% of our time, do an amazing job of pushing each other to go further each year. These projects and the people who made them happen deserve to be honored to bring more attention to the work they are doing and to drive others to go even further,” said USGBC-LA Executive Director Ben Stapleton.

The SIAs are open to Southern California projects certified from the previous year under any sustainability rating system. The LADWP La Kretz Innovation Campus was honored as Project of the Year. 

The campus features creative and inviting designs, including 2,100 plants on a living wall that is maintained with a drip-irrigation system using recycled water, 100% storm water collection, a 175-kilowatt photovoltaic solar canopy with charging stations for electric vehicles and a pocket park serving the surrounding community.

Other awardees included the Coronel Apartments in Los Feliz, which were honored for social equity, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, which was honored with the Partner of the Year Award for outstanding leadership in leveraging influence to increase the prevalence of sustainable business practices across the Los Angeles region.

For information, visit usgbc-la.org.