Jones Lang LaSalle Sponsors Empowerhouse Team in 2011 Solar Decathlon

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Jones Lang LaSalle announced today that it is serving as a sponsor of Empowerhouse, a team participating in the 2011 Solar Decathlon Competition, which will take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., this fall. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, this biennial competition challenges college students to design, build, and operate a solar-powered house.

Jones Lang LaSalle is supporting the Empowerhouse team, which is composed of more than 100 students from a range of disciplines within Parsons The New School for Design, Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, and Stevens Institute of Technology. In addition to the competition home, the students are taking their project a step further. In partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. and the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, the team will build a second home in Deanwood, a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C. At the conclusion of the competition, the two homes will be joined together to provide housing for two local families.

In addition to providing financial support to the Empowerhouse team, Jones Lang LaSalle is providing in-kind services and expertise from its Project and Development Services group to build the houses on the mall and in Deanwood. In addition, Jones Lang LaSalle employees in the Washington region will participate in four Habitat for Humanity team builds and will participate in events associated with the Empowerhouse.

"Jones Lang LaSalle is committed to the development and implementation of innovative strategies that use energy efficiency and renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings," said Michael Ellis, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle's Mid-Atlantic region. "We are also proud to be working on a project that will benefit low-income families in the Washington, D.C. community."

"Empowerhouse wouldn't be possible without the support of sponsors such as Jones Lang LaSalle," said Laura Briggs, Chair of Sustainable Architecture at Parsons The New School of Design and lead faculty on the project. "Our home will be a model for affordable, energy-efficiency, net-zero housing that can be replicated around the globe."

The homes will adhere to Passive House principles and will consume 90 percent less energy for heating and cooling than a typical home, incorporating energy-efficient appliances, maximizing natural light, photovoltaic panels and micro-mechanical systems. Empowerhouse is one of 20 teams competing in the Solar Decathlon. The houses are judged and measured in 10 categories: architecture, market appeal, engineering, communications, affordability, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment, and energy balance. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence.

As part of the company's support of the project, employees of Jones Lang LaSalle donated $19,000  toward Empowerhouse in $25 increments, receiving T-shirts, specially designed by Parsons student Meredith Ogorek, which can be worn with jeans on Earth Day.

"Celebrating Earth Day as a company serves as a reminder of the care we all need to take every day of the year to reduce our impact on the environment," said Robert Best, Executive Vice President of Energy and Sustainability Services at Jones Lang LaSalle. "By pulling together on a project as exciting and cutting-edge as Empowerhouse, our professionals show their support for the innovation and drive that these future energy leaders demonstrate."

About Empowerhouse Partner Organizations

Parsons The New School for Design and Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy are a vital part of The New School, a university with a legacy of progressive ideals, scholarship, and pedagogy. One of world's leading schools of art and design education, Parsons offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the full spectrum of disciplines, creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st century. Milano trains leaders for the nonprofit, public, and private sectors, blending theory with hands-on practice, and progressive thinking with social commitment. For more information visit www.newschool.edu/solardecathlon.

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University™, lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research.  The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management. Stevens offers baccalaureate, master's, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. For more information visit www.stevens.edu.

Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. believes that everyone deserves a house they want to call home.  That's why we work to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness in the nation's capital by building affordable, energy- and resource-efficient homes for people in need.  DC Habitat builds and rehabilitates homes in order to sell them to families who are ineligible for conventional financing. For more information visit www.dchabitat.org.

The D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development creates and preserves opportunities for affordable housing and economic development and to revitalize underserved communities in the District of Columbia. The department fulfills its mission by providing gap financing; increasing first-time homeownership opportunities; providing funding to rehabilitate single-family and multi-family homes; supporting communities through neighborhood based activities; providing funding for homelessness prevention; addressing vacant and abandoned properties; and overseeing the administration of rental housing laws. For more information, visit www.dhcd.dc.gov.

About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) is a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate. The firm offers integrated services delivered by expert teams worldwide to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying or investing in real estate. With 2010 global revenue of more than $2.9 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle serves clients in 60 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide, including 185 corporate offices.  The firm is an industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 1.8 billion square feet worldwide. LaSalle Investment Management, the company's investment management business, is one of the world's largest and most diverse in real estate with more than $41 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit our website, www.joneslanglasalle.com.

SOURCE Jones Lang LaSalle