The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have announced that the Special NO 9 House, designed with New Orleans firm John C. Williams Architects as executive architect, has been named a Top Ten Green Project for 2010. The house is one of thirteen single-family homes designed by prominent architectural firms for Make It Right, an organization founded by actor Brad Pitt to provide storm-resistant, affordable, and sustainable housing for the residents of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The COTE Top Ten Green Projects program, now in its fourteenth year, celebrates projects that are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology.

The COTE Top Ten jurors commended the design for its “high level of achievement at a modest price” and for “integrating climate and cultural responsiveness to bring something unique to the place.” To date, all of the completed homes have been certified as LEED Platinum, and the Make It Right community is now the “largest, greenest neighborhood of single family homes in America,” according to the U.S. Green Building Council. 
 
The Special NO 9 House is highly energy efficient, with a Home Energy Rating (HERS) index of 35. The simulation model consumed 65% less energy than a comparable home in the same climate. This score reflects a persuasive move in the direction of carbon neutrality by surpassing the 2030 Challenge energy target for 2010 of a 60% reduction in energy consumption. A full brief of sustainable features is available on the AIA COTE Top Ten website.

The Special NO 9 House is among several KieranTimberlake projects to be granted Top Ten Green status, including the Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington, DC, and the Yale University Sculpture Building and School of Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.