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Bud Clark Commons and the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building modernization were named by the American Institute of Architects as exceptional examples of sustainable design.

The two buildings were selected for this year’s AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Awards. The annual awards recognize sustainable design excellence.

Bud Clark Commons, a transitional housing facility, was designed by Portland-based Holst Architecture and completed in 2011. Walsh Construction was the contractor.

The Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building project was designed by Portland-based SERA Architects and Bainbridge Island, Wash.-based Cutler Anderson Architects and completed last fall. Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company was the contractor.

The federal building’s sustainable features include a rooftop canopy supporting an array of solar panels that provide between 3 and 5 percent of the building’s energy, said Lisa Petterson, a SERA associate principal. A former shooting range was converted into a rain collection tank that helps reduces building water use, and many of the materials and fixtures torn out during the renovation were salvaged or recycled, she said.

Bud Clark Commons’ focus on providing a space that helps homeless individuals transition to stable permanent housing is among its sustainable features, said Dave Otte, who served as lead architect on the project for Holst Architecture.

“The social equity part of the building is just as important as the solar panels on the roof or the gray water facility in the basement,” he said.