Cadet Kyle Taylor chosen as Volunteer Ambassador for International Living Future Institute

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Cadet Kyle A. Taylor

CHARLESTON, SC (11/06/2012)(readMedia)-- Kyle Alexander Taylor, a civil engineering student at The Citadel, has been selected as the first Volunteer Ambassador in the state of South Carolina for the International Living Future Institute, a non-governmental organization with a mission to educate audiences about fundamental change in building and project design.

"I am very excited and optimistic about the opportunity to talk with professionals and facilitate ideas for transformative change," Taylor said. " Some of my experiences give me a unique perspective on sustainability that I think is very valuable, which hopefully can allow me to affect the building community even before I am a part of it."

Taylor is a senior in the Honors College at The Citadel. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Society of American Military Engineers, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi Honor Society, president of The Citadel Political Philosophy Forum, former captain of the Citadel Triathlon Club, and a Team-In-Training athlete. He was born and raised in Charleston, S.C., and lives on James Island.

The Ambassador Network is a collaborative effort of individuals and professionals dedicated to informing others of the relationship between nature and the built environment, hosting workshops about the Living Building Challenge, and sharing design strategies.

The Living Building Challenge is the highest measure of sustainability, based on systematic performance rather than a checklist of best practices. Created by the Living Future Institute, it defines priorities on both a technical level and as a set of core values, engaging the broader building industry in conversations about problem solving. A project must be in use for at least one year to achieve certification.

"Most current certification initiatives tend to shift problems rather than solve them," Taylor said. "There is a difference between being more efficient and being sustainable. Changing the way we build and live our lives is the only real solution."

Thus far, three projects have achieved "living" status by meeting all twenty imperatives of the Challenge, while more than 90 others are in pursuit. In October, 2010, The Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, NY, became the first building in America to achieve this status along with LEED Platinum certification.

For more information about the Living Building Challenge or hosting a workshop for your company or project team, contact Taylor at taylork2@citadel.edu or visit the Living Future website at http://living-future.org/lbc.