King County Executive Dow Constantine, District Court Chief Presiding Judge Corinna Harn, and other local leaders formally opened newly-renovated space in the Maleng Regional Justice Center (MRJC) in Kent on November 1, 2013. The $8.2 million remodeling project delivered five new courtrooms and associated support space for the King County District Court. It also added a new security screening area and a reconfigured rotunda. The renovated area is expected to qualify for LEED Platinum certification.

"Thanks to these renovations, the Maleng Regional Justice Center is now more customer-friendly, more jury-friendly, more secure, and more efficient," said Executive Constantine. "These operational improvements will help us live up to the legacy of the beloved public servant after whom this facility is named."

The improvements made in the new District Court area of the building make it the first King County-owned courthouse eligible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. Some of the green building attributes include: 

• 95% construction and demolition (C&D) diversion rate from landfills
• Water efficiency fixtures and appliances reduce water use by 30% 
• Energy efficient lighting systems reduce energy loads by 35%
• 100% LED lighting in the courtrooms
• 100% Green Power
• Low or no VOC emitting materials
• 50% of the wood used is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified
• Bike storage
• Changing facilities

All of these green building measures minimize King County’s operational environmental footprint.  In addition, it reduces our operational and utility costs from lower energy and water bills. These improvements also increase the longevity of the facility and lessen the maintenance needs. 

"With the opening of the five District Courtrooms and the District Court Clerk's office at the Maleng Regional Justice Center, King County has enhanced the vision and mission of providing a full-service regional justice center for south King County," Judge Harn said. "This highly functional and efficient facility is the culmination of thousands of hours of hard work and many partnerships both within King County and across jurisdictions, especially with the City of Kent. It brings sufficient courtrooms to handle the district court workload in south King County for the first time in more than ten years."

Joe Hicker and Gay Boyce were the Project Managers, from King County Facilities Management Division, who lead the project team in sustainability innovation and due diligence. King County GreenTools also provided green building technical assistance for eco-charrette and commissioning services.

For more information about the project, please contact Joe Hicker.  

King County has approved a new Green Building Ordinance (GBO) No. 2013-0324. It raises the bar, at many levels, to achieve the overall goals of the King County Strategic Plan.

“By embracing the highest green-building standards in the nation, we are taking action to meet our goal of cutting in half the climate impact of county operations,” said Executive Constantine. “At the same time, we will save money on the energy needed to operate our facilities.”

“Building green has great potential to enhance environmental sustainability. With buildings contributing nearly forty percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and a substantial share of our natural resource consumption, we simply must change how we build and operate our facilities,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee and sponsor of the legislation. “King County’s commitment to green buildings balances two kinds of green, protecting both the environment and tax dollars, by ensuring project costs aren’t substantially increased in order to meet environmental building standards.”

Stakeholder participation, including King County staff, green building community leaders, and King County cities and residents, contributed a great deal to the content of the new GBO over the past 20 months.

Ordinance highlights include:

• Requiring all construction and major renovations projects done by King County government must strive for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification
• Improving value and longevity of public infrastructure by ensuring the design, construction, maintenance and operation of any capital project is consistent with the latest green building and sustainable development practices
• Ensuring responsible stewardship of public funds through life cycle cost analysis.
• Building a culture of performance by establishing minimum performance requirements for energy, emissions, stormwater management, and construction and demolition materials diversion
• Including green building for King County affordable housing projects that increase equitable access to improved public health, air quality, living and working environments and creating walkable communities
• Encouraging innovation and supporting flexibility by adding alternative green building rating systems, including Built Green, Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard, Salmon Safe and the Living Building Challenge 

To support voluntary communitywide sustainable development, the GBO also includes language to support the following: 

• Increase ability for county permitting staff to process green building projects
• Train permitting staff on green building techniques and permitting procedures and develop an accompanying handbook
• Develop an interagency committee to minimize permitting delays when troubleshooting challenges that may arise with cutting edge green building efforts
• Participate in the Regional Code Collaboration to unify building codes throughout King County region
• Develop a Living Building Challenge Demonstration Ordinance

 
Thanks to our diverse partnerships, King County continues to have a robust green building and sustainable development policy. Only by working together can we find solutions that will bring us to a future where there is zero waste and a restorative community.

See the Green Building Ordinance press release here.

Over one hundred people, including project team members, elected officials and dignitaries from Tukwila and Renton, and community members from the surrounding area gathered on October 8, 2013 for the grand opening of the Bow Lake Recycling Transfer Station (BLRTS). This impressive structure alongside I-5, just south of the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, is slated to achieve LEED Gold certification.

BLRTS receives one third of the waste disposed of in King County’s solid waste system. On an average day, 850-950 tons of waste is processed at this station. The transfer building was designed for a minimum 50-year service life, so materials and equipment were chosen for durability and life-cycle cost-effectiveness.

On October 23, 2013, BLRTS received the 2013 Northwest Construction Consumer Council’s Green Project of the Year Award for Achievement in Sustainability. Below are highlights of the green building components and sustainability attributes.

Recycle Area 

• The new main recycle area is built for flexibility - the design provides space to expand the type and quantity of recyclable materials accepted
• There are two areas for recycling; the main recycling area is outside the transfer building; some recycling is offered inside the transfer building
• Enhanced signage: New pictorial, bi-lingual signage, with directions that are easier to read and follow

Public Tipping Floor

• Skylights and translucent walls maximize natural light inside the building, which saves on energy use. The translucent panels provide sound control and are self-extinguishing in a fire
• A high-volume dust collection and filtration system activates as needed for dusty loads
• A water misting system with natural additives reduces odor
• Two compactors condense garbage before it is loaded into trailers for transport to the landfill; this compaction reduces transfer trailer trips by about 30 percent.
• This building can store up to 7,000 tons of garbage in case of an event that disrupts the regional solid waste transfer system

West Side of Transfer Building

• Drought-tolerant native landscaping is planted throughout the site
• Multiple gutters channel rainwater from the roof into two underground 15,000-gallon vaults. The rainwater is used in washing down station floors and equipment
• The transfer building was designed for immediate occupancy after major earthquake; the roof and walls were designed to withstand Category I hurricane force winds

Staff Break Room – Sustainable Features

• Bamboo cabinets and doors are made of bamboo, a rapidly renewable material
• The backsplash is made of 100 percent post-consumer plastic bottles
• Countertops are made from recycled glass bottles 
• 90 percent of wood used is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council
• 30 percent recycled ceiling material were used in acoustic ceiling tiles
• Energy-efficient fluorescent lights dim and switch off automatically when natural light increases
• Low VOC paints used throughout the building
• High volume fly ash is in concrete floor
• Appliances have Energy Star label for increased energy efficiency

 Scale House/Automated Traffic Management System

• New scale house has ergonomically-designed work stations, is pressurized with fresh air, and has fans outside the doors to divert vehicle exhaust. Similar to the transfer building, the scale house includes countertops made of recycled glass, recycled content tile floors, and cabinets made of bamboo, a rapidly renewable product
• Asphalt paving contains 3,900 tons of recycled asphalt shingles – locally sourced through the Solid Waste Division’s LinkUp program

Public Art

• The piece, “Confetti Cloud” invites viewers to see possibilities in humble recycled materials
• Recycled glass from the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington was harvested for re-use in the sculpture
• Artist Andy Cao was hired for this project by a selection panel comprising representatives from the cities of Tukwila and SeaTac, members of the King County Solid Waste Advisory Commission, and two professional artists

Multipurpose Room and Conference Room

• These rooms are designed to accommodate training sessions, conferences and tour group orientations. They can also serve as emergency operations centers for King County 

For more information about the Bow Lake Recycling and Transfer Station, please contact Tom Creegan.

The City of Redmond is working with A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH), the Shelter Resources Inc. and Providence development team on a project that will construct 75 units of affordable senior housing on a city-owned parcel of land located in its downtown. Redmond’s vision for its downtown is that of a vibrant mix of businesses, residential areas and open space; a destination where people can meet in their favorite bakery or take in an open-air concert.  Due to its proximity to transit, recreation, shopping, medical and library services, and the Redmond Senior Center, the site is a premier location for senior housing.

On October 10, 2013, King County GreenTools held an intimate workshop with Sim Van der Ryn, and a panel of local experts, Alexandra Ramsden and Jennifer Barnes, from Biomimicry Puget Sound, and the GreenTools team, along with a small group of interested industry, government and community leaders. The workshop was intended to allow one regional sustainable project to benefit from the review and input from an amazing collection of leaders in the field of sustainability. The GreenTools team chose the Redmond Senior Housing project for the workshop.

Workshop Overview
Valerie Thiel, of Sage Architects, gave an overview of the project and asked for input on several issues, including how to maximize site infiltration in order to lower stormwater fees.  The suggestions from the Roundtable experts, as well as the collective brainstorming of workshop attendees, resulted in a number of implementable ideas for the site. These ideas were addressed early enough in the project’s phase to allow incorporation in the schematic design/pre-application review and subsequent development phases. The concept plan was approved by Redmond’s Design Review Board on November 21, 2013, after which a formal application for development review will occur.

For more information about the Redmond Senior Housing project, please contact Sarah Stiteler, AICP, Senior Planner, at 425-556-2469.

To read the summary report from the workshop, click here.

For more information about the King County Sustainable Cities Roundtables, go her

A bit of a history lesson with a large dose of inspiration, the November King County Sustainable Cities Roundtable session with June Williamson, author of “Designing Suburban Futures: New Models from Build a Better Burb,” was a call to action for those of us planning in suburban communities.  Ms. Williamson’s talk followed the outline of her recently published book. First, she set the stage with an overview of how and why suburbs first came to be, and how they have evolved into the sprawling land use patterns planners find themselves working with today.  One very interesting graphic shared in the presentation, showed how the majority of non-rural dwellers in the U.S. are now living in suburban rather than central city environments.  More and more Americans are growing up knowing nothing but a car-centric suburban lifestyle.

The second half of our time with Ms. Williamson focused on her call to action to build a better burb.  The 2010, Long Island “Build a Better Burb Competition” urged participants to be bold and not be limited by any preconceptions about what is or isn’t possible.  Competition entries focused on the following means of bettering the burbs: increasing access to affordable housing, creating a sense of place, designing for car-free mobility, and environmental stewardship/sustainability.  Contest entries ranged from small infill projects to a complete re-working of land development patterns through zoning on a regional scale.  There were intriguing ideas for incorporating urban agriculture, increasing density via infill prototypes for single-family subdivisions, and linking elementary schools with the notion of “last mile” and transit-oriented development.

To see the winning contest entries, check out the Build a Better Burb website here.  The website includes information on additional research, projects, and articles that focus on improving our suburban communities.  Ms. Williamson’s book is available through Island Press.  Sincere thanks to Island Press for sponsoring this session with the Roundtable.

For more information about the King County Sustainable Cities Roundtables, go here.

During the 2013 calendar year, the City of Shoreline adopted two Green Building Ordinances.  Both of these products originated from the Regional Code Collaboration (RCC) team’s effort headed by City of Seattle’s Kathleen Petrie and sponsored by King County Green Tools.   Shoreline’s process was handled by the City of Shoreline’s Kim Lehmberg, Associate Planner, and Ray Allshouse, Building Official.

The first set of code amendments was for the city land use and development regulations.  These included promoting sustainable transportation, with provisions for electric vehicle infrastructure and bicycle parking; promoting water conservation and runoff diversion by relaxing setbacks for rainwater catchment systems; and allowing setback relief for the addition of exterior insulation to encourage energy conservation measures for existing structures.  Another amendment addressed light pollution and light trespass.

In addition to the development of code changes, the city’s building code was amended to require formal waste diversion plans for certain demolition and construction projects.  This is intended to improve public awareness and ultimately promote recycling and reuse of building materials that would otherwise be destined for the landfill.

Thanks in large part to the community and stakeholder outreach done by Kathleen and the RCC group, the amendments passed with no objections from the public.

For more information about Shoreline’s new code changes, please contact Kim Lehmberg.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, 2012’s deadliest and most destructive hurricane, Author, Chief Urban Designer, World Traveler, Global Professor, and avid Bicycle Commuter, Alexandros Washburn, began to envision how architecture could be used as a tool to define community and how it would influence the epic remaking of New York City (NYC).

At the Built Green annual conference held in November at the Brightwater Center, Alex shared his experiences, which were made up of equal parts politics, finance, and design. His goal – to meet the challenges of the day while improving the quality of civic life.

Through his new book, The Nature of Urban Design, A New York Perspective on Resilience, he seeks to widen the circle of those who can learn to change cities for the better. As a part of the keynote address, Alex shared his unique point of view by addressing three fundamental questions: What is Urban Design? What is Resilience? What is a sidewalk?

What is Urban Design?
“It’s how it comes together as much as how it is presented to the public.”

Alex states that “listening changes the city.” Meet with the public before releasing proposed architectural renderings. By having these renditions done already, it makes people think everything has already been decided and it eliminates any ideas of collaboration or community input.

The PlaNYC Experience
Beginning in 2007, PlaNYC, according to their webstie, represents an “unprecedented effort” to prepare NYC for one million more residents, strengthening their economy, combating climate change, and enhancing their quality of life. Over 25 city agencies are working toward the vision of a greener, greater New York.

“Transit oriented development (TOD) is the DNA for NYC.” PlaNYC believes TODs are “critical to sustainability, efficiency, and economic development, as well as being a tool to prepare NYC for climate change.” Two strategic choices are necessary to create sustainability; Adaptation and Mitigation.

“Considering that 85% of existing buildings will be around in 2050, we need to plan how we retrofit, how we want to pay for the retrofit, and how to incentivize the transformation to sustainability.” Adapt first, if possible; modify city planning departments, regulations and code, infrastructure, and financing to become resilient.

“When you can’t adapt, then Mitigate.”

In observation of his visit to Seattle and the Greater Puget Sound area Alex commented on how much we spend time in our cars. Alex enjoyed the beauty of the region but was quite surprised to see how ineffective our transit service was for such a cutting edge region.

High Line case study
The High Line is an abandoned, elevated rail system in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC. NYC set out to re-align policies, finances, and designs to convert the blighted relic into a park. The city used “tools of zoning and urban design to save the High Line as a park.” They employed a financial transfer technique to work with project opponents, exchanging air rights for development at the perimeter, allowing the core to become a park. This strategy “allowed for the transformation of the neighborhood.”

What is Resilience?
“If I don’t understand the problem, how can I possibly design a solution?”

For NYC, the need for resiliency was brought home when the October “Superstorm” forever changed how NYC was going to choose to adapt and mitigate. What the city discovered in the face of this storm was that the “primary form of resilience is volunteering – people coming from all over to help us recover.” Alex saw how NYC was very resilient socially, but not physically. They needed to adapt the PlaNYC to intentionally and intelligently make the city more resilient in the face of future risk.

The Global Risk Equation: Risk = Probability x Consequence

By applying this equation, the risk to NYC from a hurricane is very high, not because of probability, but because of consequence. Therefore, the primary action forward must be to reduce probability through mitigation, thereby reducing your overall risk. Sustainable strategies, like green building, that mitigate carbon emissions will contribute to reducing risk and promote the long-term health of the environment. Reducing risk by addressing consequences is an Adaptation Sustainability strategy, and it is always a local solution.

What is a Sidewalk ?
“To build a great city, you first have to build a great sidewalk.”

Implementing local solutions sometimes requires us to adopt a new point of view (POV). Our perspective of the sidewalk is a primary example. Alex’s philosophy is that we need to shift away from a POV from the car’s windshield to a pedestrian POV.

Architecture is a tool for building cities, but we have to remember scale. Likening urban or suburban city redevelopment to a first down in football, the pedestrian may not reach their goal within ten yards, but they do need a first down. Contribute to civic life and include architectural elements in your urban core (a bench, street furniture, a statue, trees, awnings, etc.) every ten yards, and you will get to the Goal!  Make architectural connections along city streets by having a pedestrian POV for your city’s sidewalks.

To influence the shape and look of your city streets, Alex suggests using your planning team to establish regulations that support this goal. There are a number of tools Alex has used successfully to implement PlaNYC, including guidelines, street design standards, zoning and building codes. Use all of these tools, along with integrated design, to incentivize green building, remove impediments, and create a truly walkable sustainable urban core in every city, no matter its size.

Lessons Learned
NYC had a choice following Hurricane Sandy: rebuild with the same policies and solutions that allowed the problems in the first place, or recreate the city with a new model. NYC chose a new model – Resiliency: Adaptation and Mitigation.

At the 2013 Built Green Conference, Built Green recognized 13 industry professionals for outstanding green projects. The Built Green Hammer Awards are intended to reward Built Green members for their outstanding projects and participation in the previous year. In order to be eligible for an award, professionals must be certifying projects at a 3-Star level or higher.

Outstanding Affordable Housing
Young Women's Christian Association of King and Snohomish County
Issaquah Highlands Family Village

Builder, Remodel
LimeLite Development

Built Green Advocate, Private Sector
Evergreen Certified

Developer, Large Community (Community over 100 acres)
King County Housing Authority
Seola Gardens

Builder, Small Speculative (Less than 10 homes built)
Dwell Development 

Built Green Advocate, Public Sector
City of Redmond

Builder, Multi-Family 1-50 units
Marpac Construction LLC
Imani Village

Builder, Multi-Family 50-150 Units
The Schuster Group
Muriel’s Landing

Builder, Multi-Family 150+ Units
SRM Development

Judge’s Choice
Dovetail, Inc.
Julia Place

When it comes from a responsibly managed forest, wood may be the most sustainable building material. It is non-toxic, renewable, biodegradable and beautiful. In the Pacific Northwest, we are blessed with an abundance of forests and a good climate for growing trees.

But not all forest management is the same. Destructive forestry continues today and in the Puget Trough eco-region, deforestation remains a big problem. Consider this: deforestation causes more carbon pollution than the entire transportation sector. In short, we cannot address the climate crisis without healthy, functioning forest ecosystems.

The good news is that we can have responsibly managed forests that protect water quality, wildlife and jobs, while still providing a continuous flow of wood and fiber for green building and many other products.

That’s where the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC) comes in. As an independent nonprofit organization, FSC sets standards for responsible forest management. As a member-led organization, FSC has support from environmental groups like World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), National Wildlife Federation, Washington Environmental Council and the Northwest Natural Resource Group, along with companies like Kimberly-Clark, The Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard.

To support architects, engineers, builders and others working in green building, FSC recently developed a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) that provides American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) approved continuing education credit to professionals. For others, the CEU provides in-depth coverage of the role FSC-certified products play in green building.

Around King County, there are many FSC-certified lumberyards where you can buy FSC-certified products for LEED, Living Building Challenge, Built Green and other green building projects. FSC-certified companies include: Dunn Lumber, Pearson Millwork, Allied Building Products, Parr Lumber, Green Depot, Pacific Western Lumber, Northwest Millwork, and Matheus Lumber.

To learn more about the Continuing Education Unit (CEU), click here to download the CEU and take the quiz for credit.

The University of Washington is continuing to prove itself as a leader in promoting innovation and energy efficiency with the construction of three new residence halls. Lander, Maple, and Terry Halls comprise a significant portion of an overall effort to rejuvenate housing in West Campus. These halls are icons of energy efficiency for the campus, integrating numerous forward-thinking design strategies, including a state-of-the-art condenser water loop integral to a comprehensive energy savings system.

All three buildings are targeting LEED-NC (New Construction) Gold certification.  Energy savings for the Lander building will exceed the ASHRAE 90.1-2007 standard by 40%, resulting in a potential award of 10 LEED points for energy efficiency which is the maximum number available for a building with district cooling!

The UW Campus central cooling water loop (CCW loop) operates as chilled water during the summer and as an energy exchange loop during the winter. In winter operation, the campus chillers and cooling towers are turned off, but the CCW loop continues to circulate in order to maintain an energy balance between numerous buildings. Campus-wide, more buildings add heat to the CCW than remove it, so the UW is excited about adding another site with the ability to remove heat from the loop.

The UW Lander, Maple, and Terry Halls onsite condenser water energy exchange loop (onsite loop) mirrors the operation of the larger CCW loop and allows for energy exchange between the new dormitories and the rest of the buildings connected to the larger loop. The diversity of occupancies, functions, cooling and heating loads, and schedules served by the system provides a great opportunity for energy savings.

These uses include:

• 24/7 cooling for kitchen walk-in coolers and freezers
• 24/7 cooling of electrical and server rooms
• Domestic hot water

As well as HVAC cooling and preheat for:

• Kitchen and dining areas
• UW Housing and Food Service offices
• Student Services support
• Conference and meeting rooms
• Residential building entries
• Residential amenity spaces including gaming center spaces and community spaces
• Residential laundry rooms

The smaller onsite loop uses the CCW loop as one stage of cooling during the summer which provides approximately 40% of the site’s cooling. More importantly, it has the ability to remove up to 420 kW of heat from the CCW during the winter. Heat is also recovered from the majority of the 24/7 cooling loads onsite. The recovered heat is then utilized for producing domestic hot water and for heating the ventilation air for the three buildings. This is accomplished through the following components:

• Plate-and-frame heat exchangers
• Air-to-water heatpumps to maintain the onsite condenser water loop temperature
• Water-to-water heatpumps for domestic hot water
• 24/7 cooling via water-to-air heatpumps
• Water-cooled VRF equipment
• Water-cooled kitchen refrigerant equipment
• Cooling via chilled water coils
• Preheating of outside air via preheat coils

Rushing is the mechanical engineer of record for all three buildings as part of a team including the University of Washington Housing and Food Services, University of Washington Capital Projects Office, and Mithun Architects. Occupancy of Lander Hall begins in January with Terry and Maple Halls following in August 2015.