2010 – Birth Of Oregon Sustainability Center’s Living Building

Later this year construction will begin on the edge of the Portland State University campus in downtown Portland, for a living building – the Oregon Sustainability Center (OSC). Bringing together academic, government, nonprofit and business sectors to advance the region’s innovation in sustainability.

The Oregon Sustainability Center is a collaborative effort of the Oregon University System in partnership with the City of Portland, the Portland Development Commission, Portland Sustainability Institute, and a group of leading environmental organizations led by the Oregon Environmental Council and Earth Advantage Institute.

A hub for sustainable practices, policy, education, research and entrepreneurship. It will be a replicable model for meeting the challenges of the 21st century economy by creating new industries and spawning new green jobs.

The OSC will achieve triple net-zero performance in energy and water use and carbon emissions. In doing so, show that it is possible to build a net-zero urban high-rise building that uses only renewable energy produced on-site.

Water flowing through the Center will follow natural patterns of the local hydrological cycle. Only rainwater that falls on-site will be used, treated within the building, and filtered into local aquifers.

The roofs and canopies of the Center will funnel rain water into a 200,000-gallon storage tank in the basement, enough to provide for the building throughout the dry season. Treated graywater will replace potable water in most systems in the building including flushing toilets, irrigation, or cooling mechanical equipment.

Wastewater from toilets, known as blackwater, is not as easily treated or reused. The Center will use an intense biological wastewater treatment system to clean blackwater’s higher level of contamination, a system that mimics the cleaning and filtering processes found in nature.The Center’s biological wastewater treatment system will look like a garden. Once treated, the water will be reused as graywater or returned to the ground naturally (along with excess rainfall), through porous surfaces, a groundwater recirculation system under the building, and a green street next to the building.

Passive energy systems are the backbone of the Center’s design, capitalizing on natural systems like solar orientation, thermal mass, and heat transfer. The Center will provide 100% of its energy from within an area smaller than a single city block. Four types of photovoltaics, including panels that cover the roof, the canopies, and integrate into the skin and sunshades of the building, will be used to generate all of the building’s electricity.

Smart design coupled with tenant awareness and behavior is anticipated to push energy use reduction to more than 70% below that of a typical office building. Sensors throughout the building will be able to take stock of energy use on an individual level, keeping track of typically “unregulated” plug loads like task lighting and small appliances. Able to see how they use—and waste—energy, tenants can more closely manage their personal energy use.

The OSC will use only non-toxic, resource-wise, locally sourced and healthy materials, creating a healthy and productive indoor environment. No carbon emissions will emanate from the building, which will adhere to the strict standards of net-zero energy and water performance.

OSC’s mission statements says it all – To encourage the creation of Living Buildings, Sites and Communities in countries around the world while inspiring, educating and motivating a global audience about the need for fundamental and transformative change.

…. as the green future unfolds.

Tags: academic government, biological wastewater treatment, business sectors, carbon emissions, city of portland, climate, energy, environment, gallon storage tank, go green, green, high rise building, hydrological cycle, local aquifers, natural patterns, oregon environmental council, oregon university system, policy education, portland development commission, portland state university, rain water, replicable model, sustainability institute, wastewater treatment system, water, wind, year construction

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 at 10:37 pm and is filed under Going Green, Natural Living, unity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.