Although Rhinebeck, New York has been the focal point of of the papparazi for the Chelsea Clinton wedding, it's also famous in the sustainability community for the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies.

The Omega Institute's Center for Sustainable Living, a water reclamation facility and environmental education center, was selected for the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment Top 10 Green Projects Award for 2010. BNIM was the architect for the project and worked with John Todd Ecological Design to integrate the Eco-Machine technology central to the project's function.

The Living Building Challenge requires buildings to be informed by their eco-region's characteristics; generate all of their own energy with renewable resources; capture and treat all of their water; operate efficiently; and be designed for maximum beauty. There are six performance areas—site, energy, materials, water, indoor quality, and beauty & inspiration—and certain criteria to be met in each category in order for a building to be designated a Living Building.

A program of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, the Living Building Challenge is attempting to push the boundaries of green building and sustainable architecture to help our society move quickly to a state of balance between natural and built environments.

"Inherent to any solution to our environment's problems has to be the understanding of the essential interconnection between ourselves, nature and each other," said said Skip Backus, chief executive officer at Omega and general project manager for the OCSL.

"The Omega Center for Sustainable Living is a model for water stewardship and regenerative architectural design," said Laura Lesniewski, project principal at BNIM. "BNIM commends the vision of the client team for their intensive collaboration and willingness to take this project into a realm of unparalleled leadership and performance. The OCSL has much to teach all of us about the potential for sustainable design."

The OCSL supplies all of its own energy needs and its operation is carbon neutral. The self-sustaining building is heated and cooled using geothermal systems, and utilizes photovoltaic power. Other features include a design that is a balance of passive (daylight, passive solar heating, natural ventilation) and mechanical (geo thermal, fans, electric lighting) comfort systems. It serves as the heart of Omega's ongoing environmental initiatives and includes a greenhouse, an Eco-Machine™, constructed wetlands, and a classroom. The OCSL is open year-round for tours and educational events.

The core of the center is a 4,500-square-foot greenhouse containing a water filtration system called the Eco-Machine™. This living system uses plants, bacteria, algae, snails, and fungi to recycle Omega's wastewater (approximately 5 million gallons per year) into clean water that is used to restore the aquifer. John Todd, winner of the 2008 Buckminster Fuller Challenge award, and his son Jonathan Todd, are the founders of John Todd Ecological Design, Inc., which is responsible for the design of the Eco Machine™.