WASHINGTON, DC — The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) will begin accepting registrations and project submissions for the 2002 Top Ten Green Projects program in January. The program, which is a partnership with the Department of Energy, seeks to identify and recognize architecture that epitomizes the benefits of green building and sustainable design.

COTE believes the vitality of the natural and built environment are inseparable, and that the best architecture integrates the two in a way that improves and sustains quality of life.

The final submittal deadline is March 1. Entrants will be notified of the jury’s decision on March 30. The winning projects will be exhibited at the National Building Museum April 29 and at the AIA Convention in Charlotte, N.C., May 9-12.

For information on the AIA's Top 10 Green Buildings program, including descriptions of last year's winners, visit www.aia.org/pia/cote/topten/Default. asp, or contact COTE program manager Peg Hamil at 202-626-77317, e-mail phamil@aia.org.