Metropolis magazine issued a final call this week for entries in its Next Generation Design Competition, which this year takes its inspiration from GSA Administrator Martha Johnson's challenge to her agency to strive for a zero environmental footprint.

A $10,000 prize will go to the designer with the best plan for transforming a 1965 federal office building in Los Angeles (pictured left) so its environmental benefits neutralize the structure's environmental impact.

The eight-story building occupies a 4.4-acre site in downtown Los Angeles in the Civic Center area. The building has 1.17 million gross square feet and almost 760,000 usable square feet.

The Next Generation contest is open to architects, interior designers, product designers, landscape designers, graphic designers, communication designers and engineers who have been in practice for no more than 10 years. Design students may participate, and individual and team entries are accepted. The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. PST on January 31.

More information about the contest is available at www.metropolismag.com/nextgen.


^{Image -- Photo by Andrew Bywater via Metropolis Next Generation Project Brief.}