Winner of the 2007 Associated Builders and Contractor’s Maryland Chapter Grand Award, the Friends Community School in College Park, Maryland, is one of the largest straw bale buildings in the country. The 26,000 square foot prekindergarten through eighth grade school incorporates a green roof, solar tubes, an energy recovery mechanical system and rain gardens. Designed to take advantage of natural daylight for the classrooms, the building arcs across the site with views of nearby wetlands and the neighboring Greenbelt Park.