Architecture at Zero - A Competition for Zero Net Energy

The Architecture at Zero competition, now in its fifth year, was conceived as a response to the zero net energy targets set out by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) in the 2008 report,
California’s Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. In this report, the CPUC set out four “Big Bold Energy Efficiency Strategies” for California that include the goals that all new residential construction in California be ZNE by 2020 and that all new commercial construction be ZNE by 2030.

Architecture at Zero 2015 is sponsored by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), as part of its program activities dedicated to furthering the knowledge building and practice of ZNE building in California.

Architecture at Zero seeks creative and feasible approaches to ZNE building. By encouraging innovative design solutions to site-specific design challenges, the competition aims to broaden thinking about the technical and aesthetic possibilities of zero net energy projects. Further, it seeks to raise the profile of ZNE among built-environment professionals, students, and the general public in California and beyond.