Solatube International Inc., a worldwide leading manufacturer and marketer of tubular daylighting devices (TDDs), announced the winners of the 2011 Solatube ICE Awards for Inspired and Creative Excellence in the use of Solatube products in daylighting design. The international contest recognizes residential, commercial and student work in locations ranging from homes and manufacturing facilities, to schools and retail stores.

Solatube has also announced the call for entries for the 2012 Solatube ICE Awards. Projects representing inspired and creative excellence in daylighting may be entered at http://solatubeiceawards.com, where details may also be found. The deadline for entries is Sept. 1, 2012.

The 2011 Solatube Inspired and Creative Excellence (ICE) Awards winners are:
• Algae to Omega – Solatube Daylighting Systems run through the ceiling and over giant tanks to promote the growth of algae with daylight
• National Great Rivers Research and Education Center Lewis and Clark Community College; Architect: AAIC – Green roofs with Solatube Daylighting Systems incorporated creatively into them
• Red Hawk Elementary School; Architect: RB+B Architects, Inc. – Slits cut into the Solatube tubing, creating a raindrop effect with daylight on the walls
• El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa Design; Architect: David Sargert – A huge citrine crystal hangs suspended from the opening of a Solatube product, creating an inspired lighting effect
• Focus Lighting Inc. Architectural Design – Multi-story use and Solatube Daylighting Systems incorporated into their offices
• Miami Science Museum – Innovative display that provides sunlight for fish and educational experience using daylight for visitors
• Downing University Center, Western Kentucky University; Architects: Mackey Mitchell Associates, Ross Tarrant Architects – Conceptual rendering featuring numerous Solatube Daylighting Systems flooding a building interior with daylight

“Over the past 20 years, our customers have never ceased to amaze with their creativity,” said Robert E. Westfall Jr., president of Solatube International. “They inspired us to create the ICE Awards and give them a platform to showcase their excellent work in daylighting.”

“We are thrilled about winning a Solatube ICE Award,” said Geronimos Dimitrelos, owner of Algae to Omega (http://www.algae2omega.com). “Solatube makes great products for bringing daylight indoors and we use them to grow algae – too much light and it will be destroyed, too little and it won’t grow. Our algae is used in everything from cosmetics and nutraceuticals to livestock feed and biofuels; it is the wave of the future and so is daylighting.”

Solatube International invented TDDs, which harvest and distribute daylight in homes and commercial buildings, opening up an entirely new category in the lighting industry. Solatube Daylighting Systems are now being installed in areas of buildings never before thought possible, resulting in energy-saving and sustainability in residential and commercial spaces around the world.

Using patented technology, Solatube Daylighting Systems harvest daylight at the rooftop and transfer it down through a highly reflective tube (which bends up to 90 degrees and can be up to 70 feet or more long) and distribute it evenly into a room through a diffuser or decorative fixture at the ceiling. The products have been installed in everything from homes to warehouses, schools, offices, manufacturing facilities, zoos and government buildings, in every part of the world.

For more information on the Solatube Daylighting System or other products manufactured and marketed by Solatube International, including solar-powered attic ventilation fans, visit the Solatube Web site at http://www.solatube.com or call 888-SOLATUBE (888-765-2882).