Siemens Industry Inc. has announced the winners of its inaugural Smartest Building in America Challenge. Grand prize winners are the Duke Energy Center, Charlotte, N.C., and the Iowa Central Community College, Fort Dodge, Iowa. Runner-up winners are the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Rasmussen Building at Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa.

Grand prize winners will receive $25,000 in products and services from the Building Technologies Division, according to Christoph Vogel, vice president of Control Products and Systems (CPS), a Business Unit of the Building Technologies Division of Siemens Industry, or a $25,000 contribution to qualified charities of their choice. Runner-up prize winners will receive $15,000 in products and services or a $15,000 contribution to qualified charities of their choice.

2010 Grand Prize Winners

• The Duke Energy Center is a LEED Core and Shell 2.0 Platinum certified office tower with 48 stories and 1.5 million square feet. Using Siemens APOGEE Building Automation System, it creates operational efficiencies that have reduced energy consumption by 22 percent.


• The Iowa Central Community College Biotechnology and Health Science Building is a LEED Gold building that relies on the Siemens TALON AX system to integrate six mechanical systems and operate equipment such as water-to-air heat pumps, pumping systems, water-to-water heat pumps, and air-handling units.

2010 Runners-Up

•  Alaska’s Cold Climate Housing Research Center is in the process of receiving LEED Platinum certification, which would make it the furthest north LEED Platinum building in the world. Using the Siemens APOGEE system to handle Alaska’s extreme climate, the research center has more than 1,200 sensors that monitor everything from the walls to the roofs, rainwater, foundations, permafrost and HVAC.


• The Rasmussen Building at Grand View University ensures the comfort of faculty and students while supporting Art Department needs to showcase student work and talents. Using the Siemens TALON system, the building automatically operates VAV boxes for the entire facility, raises and lowers window shades based on time of day and interior room temperatures, and adjusts lighting for the Art Gallery and main conference room.

The Smartest Building in America Challenge recognizes how people use the sophisticated Siemens technology that keeps America’s buildings operating in a smart way to reduce cost and energy usage. Open to any facility that operates either APOGEE or TALON building automation systems.

Entries from the winners and other entrants can be viewed at www.smartestbuildinginamerica.com.