INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN GTZ SEASON 2?
If you’re interested in participating in the next AIA Seattle Getting to Zero series, with new speakers and net zero design examples, click below for more information!
The second season of Getting to Zero starts October 2, 2015 – hope to see you there!
GTZ SEASON 2 KEY PROGRAM DATES
- Preparing for Net Zero on Friday, October 2, 2015 8:00AM – 12:30PM
- Design for Net Zero on Friday, October 23, 2015 8:00AM – 12:30PM
- Operations for Net Zero on Friday, November 13, 2015 8:00AM – 12:30PM
- Financing & Regulations for Net Zero on Friday, December 4, 2015 8:00AM – 12:30PM
Louisa Gaylord shares insights from AIA Seattle’s first-ever Getting to Zero series, which was made possible by an Innovation Fund grant from AIA National
Our world is changing, and with 82% of the population living in urban areas, how we design and build our cities should be changing too. LEED certifications only slow down the environmental damage that large office buildings create. But at this point, we need drastic measures that reverse the effects of years of planetary neglect. The Living Building Challenge, developed by the International Living Future Institute, is a rigorous set of building, material and operations criteria that result in beautiful, contemporary net zero energy projects. Only five buildings have achieved certification so far, but over 190 additional projects are in some sort of design, building or operation phase. Seattle is pioneering net zero energy in a new way. The city is already home to one certified Living Building, and the Bullitt Center is on track to becoming the largest net zero energy commercial building in the world.
AIA Seattle recently hosted a four-part series called Getting To Zero as an extension of the AIA 2030 program focused on supporting net zero design in the next 15 years. The series focused on giving local architects, engineers and project managers the tools to create more innovative net zero energy buildings in the Pacific Northwest. By focusing on changing the mentality of creating beautiful efficient buildings, AIA Seattle is empowering building professionals to go out and change how the world thinks about design.
The net zero energy building process starts at the beginning, surprisingly enough; before the plans are drawn, before the energy modeling of building systems, or before someone writes the first check. The design team must be assembled with the end goal – the Living Building certification – in mind, so that everyone is on the same page throughout the entire building process. Patrick Brunner, the project executive and contracting officer at the GSA who worked on the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt project in Portland, OR, says the entire team had to change how they interacted with each other; “I didn’t hire them to do what I told them to do, I hired them to help me solve a problem I had.” Everyone involved in the process has a different perspective about the project and brings an individual set of interests. Collaborating with the entire design team from the very start is a great way to make sure everyone feels confident their concerns are being heard, and none of the minor details are being overlooked. Matthew Braun, project executive at Balfour Beatty, says that “the magic is in creating teams and leveraging their capabilities to get desired results.”
Many investors see net zero energy projects as daunting because of the large price tag associated with the certification. What they need to understand is that when the current definition of “long term” changes, everything changes with a Living Building: a traditional office building has an average 20 year lifespan, while Seattle’s Bullitt Center has a 250 year lease. Not only are monetary investments considered, but health benefits and community advantages as well. Patrick Brunner explains, “[We] have to give up the idea that the lowest price equals the maximum project.” The cost of a net zero energy building is largely front-loaded; after the building materials have been purchased and the building is operating as it should, that’s when the government grants, tax credits, and energy savings begin to reverse the initial intimidating investment.
The environment that the building will inhabit is just as important as the building itself. Every city in the world has a unique set of natural resources at its disposal, and therefore every net zero energy building will use systems that take advantage of the resources specific to that region. Seattle has ample rainfall, which the Bullitt Center utilizes with rainwater recovery systems for landscaping, and gray water for flushing toilets – a Living Building in Arizona wouldn’t be able to use the same systems with as much success. The site of the Bullitt Center is located on a hill that slopes up from Elliott Bay. Because it’s not located downtown and shaded by tall office buildings, the building has a photovoltaic array that actually extends out over Madison Street to make the best use of the city’s annual average of 152 sunny days (the US national average is just over 200 days per year). Net zero energy systems are like a regatta boat: if they’re not pulling their weight and working efficiently with the other systems, they’re keeping the building from achieving the end goal.
A standard commercial building is usually constructed to accommodate almost any tenant, then handed off to the new landlords after the project is completed. However, a net zero energy office building must be far more rigorous about the types of businesses they lease to. The future tenants must be considered while during the design process. New market tax credits and government grants limit some establishments, like those that sell alcohol. Others, like coffee shops and cafes, wouldn’t fit with the energy use and waste water production goals needed for the Living Building Challenge. Justin Stenkamp, who worked on the Bullitt Center’s mechanical systems with PAE, explains that “it doesn’t matter if you’re plugging in a laptop or flushing a toilet, you’re really aware of how you’re impacting the building’s ability to meet its performance goals.”
Once the tenants have moved into their new space, the building project isn’t even close to being finished. To achieve the Living Building Challenge, buildings must submit their energy and waste statistics for twelve consecutive months while fully leased, to prove that the net zero energy building is functioning as designed. It’s recommended that owners have a 12 to 18 month “tuning period” to assess and adjust the building systems. Patrick Brunner says, “It’s not that it’s designed incorrectly, it’s that you need to watch how the tenants use the building.” The Bullitt Center had training sessions on how to use the kitchens and composting toilets, and started using suggested language. The building elevator is nestled deep in the center of the building where it’s only accessible to people who consciously choose to use it; instead visitors and tenants are drawn to the bright, open stairwell, nicknamed “the irresistible stair.” Brunner says that to operate the building at optimal performance levels, “we wanted the tenants to buy into the idea that we needed their help.”
Rob Harmon, founder and CEO of EnergyRM, is entirely correct when he says that “there’s a lot of heartache and bloodshed involved with being this far ahead on the cutting edge of net zero.” But the good news is that it’s going to get a lot easier. By pioneering the design and construction of a six story net zero energy commercial building, the Bullitt Center and the City of Seattle are figuring out together how to collaborate so everyone wins. The Center uses the city power grid like a battery – taking energy in the darker months, and giving back energy surplus from its PV array in the brighter months – something that has never been explored before in Seattle. A delicate balance between landlord, tenants and city had to be achieved. But now that it’s been done, the Bullitt Center will prove that it’s possible and act as a working model for more Living Building projects, both in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. Net zero energy buildings will change how architects see aesthetics, how engineers see energy modeling, how landlords see tenants, and how the community sees its future. This changes everything.
Learn more about author Louisa Gaylord and explore her other work at louisagaylord.com.
Garrett Reynolds, AIA, is a licensed architect and designer at Mithun, a Seattle-based architecture firm. His work focuses on developing conceptually-based design solutions for dense, mixed-use, and transit-oriented developments from concept design through construction. He specializes in design visualization, parametric modeling, and forward-thinking design solutions. A LEED Accredited Professional, Reynolds is committed to sustainable design and works to develop innovative, energy efficient solutions to provide a more walkable, livable, and healthy environment. He is currently working on Block 136, a mixed-use residential development for Security Properties in Portland, Oregon’s Pearl District. Reynolds holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is currently a member of AIA Seattle’s Honor Awards Committee and Residential Design Forum Planning Task Force.
Brodie Bain, FAIA, has transformed the breadth of architectural practice through leadership in mission-focused, strategically-driven planning. Her work helps educational institutions, using integrated methods for place-based, user-centered and sustainable solutions. With a passion for creating and preserving people places, our environment and institutions that serve society, Brodie focuses on design strategies for mission-centered clients responsible for creating and stewarding places. By supporting institutions charged with making important contributions, Brodie has expanded architectural practice to a strategic role helping clients make decisions that serve to carry out their mission while improving the environments that support them. Having worked with over 30 campuses and hundreds of campus and community stakeholders, Brodie’s comprehensive understanding of colleges and universities offers a rare comparative perspective. Her service to professional associations, civic organizations and academics, along with many speaking engagements has given audiences around the country a new perspective on the range of possibilities for architectural practice.
Donald R. Horn, FAIA, LEED Fellow, is a leader in green building policy development and advocacy within the Federal government, impacting national standards and architectural practice to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all buildings across the country. Don is Deputy Director of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings at the U.S. General Services Administration, promoting environmentally responsible decision-making for buildings, and translating green building strategies and ideals into regulations and guidance to meet federal goals for building performance. Don has worked nationally and internationally to influence green building guidance and policies. His committee and board service includes ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1 for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings, Federal Advisor to the USGBC Board of Directors, and Seattle’s Living Building and Deep Green Pilot Technical Advisory Committee. He has 24 years experience with GSA in both sustainability and historic preservation. He holds architecture degrees from the University of Virginia and Georgia Tech.
Rachel Minnery, FAIA, NCARB, LEEP AP, is an architect with over 15 years of design and management experience in both the public and private sector on building and planning projects with a focus on environmentally and socially responsible design. She recently relocated to Washington DC and is the Director of Built Environment Policy at the American Institute of Architects overseeing the institute’s programs for codes & standards, disaster, resilience and community development. As former-chair of the national American Institute of Architect’s Disaster Assistance Committee and co-founder of Architects Without Borders Seattle, Rachel advocates for and organizes architects to contribute volunteer design services to communities in great need. She has led groups of volunteer architects to disaster-stricken places, particularly Washington, Mississippi and Haiti, responding to floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Rachel frequently speaks and writes on issues in the built environment related to natural disasters, resilience, and public-interest design.
Ron Rochon, FAIA, is the managing partner of the Miller Hull Partnership. Ron’s career-spanning passion is an exploration of how architecture can affect the significant role buildings play in carbon emissions and carbon management, with the elegant integration of high-performance architecture and engineering the emergent hallmark of his practice. Since assuming the role of managing partner at The Miller Hull Partnership in 2009, Ron has taken the highly regarded firm to the next level as a thriving practice addressing contemporary design challenges by incorporating science and technology. His vision and leadership in advancing processes and systems that facilitate research and computer based modeling is integral to developing progressive solutions to complex high performance design problems, the lessons of which he willingly imparts with others in a spirit of ‘open source’ communication to advance impactful design on a broad scale.
Steven M. Shiver, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, NCIDQ, is a Principal at NAC|Architecture in Seattle, WA. He has spent the last twenty five years managing the planning, design and construction of more than $400 million in educational and state facilities. As an experienced and accomplished educational planner, Steve has an international reputation for his thoughts on how integrated sustainable building features can be used as teaching and learning tools. He is particularly gifted in integrating educational delivery goals into facility design and regularly speaks at national conferences on educational planning and design. Several of his recent projects were the recipient of multiple national and regional awards. He is currently the 2015 Chair of the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education Knowledge Community.
Boris Srdar, FAIA, holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Zagreb University, Croatia, and a Master of Design Studies from Harvard University. For the last 17 years, Boris has been with NAC|Architecture, where he has served as a lead designer and has provided principal leadership in elevating design quality firm-wide. Among the results was the recognition of NAC|Architecture as the 27th best firm in the nation by Architect Magazine in 2010. His background in European urban design has led to creating spaces that have a strong sense of engagement with their surrounding environment. As result of this approach, projects where Boris was the lead designer have received more than 20 national, international and regional awards since 2010 alone. He has been a frequent design critic for student reviews at American universities.
