NYSERDA – Buildings of Excellence Early Design Support (RFP 3925 – D)

Note: Applications are accepted on a continuous basis until June 28, 2024 or until funds are fully committed, whichever occurs first.

The Buildings of Excellence Early Design Support Request for Proposal (the “Early Design Support RFP”) seeks proposals for qualified design firms that will provide early-stage design support for new construction, adaptive reuse, and gut rehabilitation multifamily projects that will be clean and resilient and achieve carbon neutral-ready performance while being beautiful and functional, providing healthy, safe, comfortable, and resilient living spaces for their occupants. 

The Early Design Support RFP is part of and in support of the larger Buildings of Excellence Competition (the “Competition”) which includes the Buildings of Excellence Competition RFP (RFP 3928 - Rd4). Successful proposers to the Early Design Support RFP must demonstrate how their design firm has engaged with prior projects and will engage with projects in the future to substantially reduce energy use, while increasing building resiliency, successfully integrating architectural design attributes, and improving health, comfort, safety, and productivity for occupants, in a manner that can be replicated at scale. The Early Design Support RFP intends to identify and select project proposals from design firm patterns that demonstrate the greatest potential for success and replication in the market. Through this Early Design Support RFP, selected design firms are eligible to receive up to $1.50/square foot in direct funding, up to a per project-cap of $100,000, for early-stage clean, resilient, and carbon neutral-ready design support, as well as support for initiatives focused on broad marketing and public awareness.

Proposers must demonstrate (1) competence in clean, resilient, and carbon neutral-ready design that is coupled with architectural design quality and innovation, (2) ability to deliver high quality and functional, clean, resilient, and carbon neutral-ready multifamily projects at competitive costs, with superior performance, (3) how their projects generate interest in and demand for the design, construction, and occupation of clean, resilient, and carbon neutral-ready buildings, and (4) their commitment to share information related to the project’s design, costs, and performance to support the decision-making processes employed to achieve the desired outcomes.

To be deemed carbon-neutral ready a project must exclude all fossil fuels from the building systems and equipment. Building systems and equipment refers to at a minimum; building heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), domestic hot water (DHW), kitchen, laundry, and other appliances. Projects that rely on a fossil fuel-fired generator for emergency use only, or projects which are served by an off-site fossil fuel-fired central heating plant, may at NYSERDA’s sole discretion, qualify as carbon neutral-ready if fossil fuels are excluded from all other building systems and equipment.

For more information, please view:

• Buildings of Excellence Competition
• Buildings of Excellence Early Design Support (RFP) 3928-D