Selected by the magazine’s readers and editors and presented at a special dinner in Los Angeles, the Nice Modernist Awards honor those individuals and organizations who further the development of thoughtful and engaging design. Accepting the award for the CWF Foundation were campaign co-chairs Marianne Lund and Bobbi Llewellyn and Charlottesville architect Ted Jones, whose company is behind the unprecedented design effort.

“This is an extraordinary honor and further evidence that our project is resonating with the green community across the country,” said CWF Chair Sarah Tremaine. “From the very beginning, our mission has been to make the Charlottesville Waldorf School a model for affordable and sustainable building for schools, corporations and individuals everywhere. An award such as this one, coming from such a highly respected industry publication, helps provide our efforts with an infusion of excitement and energy and will doubtless help us take the next steps toward our dream.”

The $6.1 million-dollar Campaign to Build the Greenest School in America began when caring parents, educators and community members joined forces with industry and thought-leaders to extend the vision of green school design farther than it has ever gone before. The plans call for the school, located on a 13.8-acre lot just off Rio Road in Charlottesville, to be the first LEED Platinum certified elementary school in the country.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council and is reserved only for those projects and builders who adhere to the ultimate standards of environmental responsibility. The certification is based on a checklist of environmental factors in six categories: sustainable sites, energy and atmosphere, water efficiency, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design process.

The school represents an extension of environmentally-conscious Waldorf philosophy, featuring a revolutionary approach to resource management, reducing the environmental impact found in conventional building practices, and providing a healthy space for living, working and learning.

Highly respected and widely read by the environmentally-conscious designer and consumer alike, Dwell (www.Dwell.com) is known for focusing on interior and exterior modern home design that does not sacrifice environmental advances for stylishness and accessibility. The magazine highlights eco-friendly design innovations while featuring designs that aret are modern, idea-driven and sensitive to social and environmental surroundings.

Dwell featured the Greenest School campaign in its May issue with a two-page article titled “Teaching by Example.” The piece focused on the ways in which the project reflects the Waldorf School philosophy while maintaining a modest budget, and featured construction details and color renderings.