Friday, May 31, 2013

Sustainable Ballard is Hosting a Tour of the Greenfire Campus

The newly constructed Greenfire campus in Ballard includes a five-story apartment building with 18 homes and a four-story, 18,000-sf office building with retail on the ground floor. Where other recent projects in Ballard have maximized the amount of square footage, this developer has built just what was desired and provided large amounts of open space in the form of wetlands and P-patches.
Seattle Greendrinks has announced a tour of the campus on Wednesday, June 5, from 7:00pm-8:30pm

This talk, by architect Ray Johnston, will cover some of the project’s many green features, including ground-source heat pumps, solar panels, rainwater collection, grey water reuse, green roof with edible and native plants, locally sourced recyclable materials, extensive daylighting, hydronic heating and cooling, exterior solar shades, and community recreation spaces.
Don’t miss the chance to tour this cutting-edge, LEED Platinum building. Questions encouraged!
RSVP Required: http://greenfiretour.eventbrite.com/
Sponsored by Sustainable Ballard and Johnston Architects

Location

Greenfire Campus
2034 Northwest 56th Street
Seattle, WA 98107

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

2013 Daniel L. and Irma Evans Lecture

This is short notice, but the University of Washington Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will be hosting the 2013 Evans Lecture tomorrow evening (Thursday, May 30th). This year's lecture focuses on sustainability and the role engineers can/should play.

From the UW CEE Department:

Please join the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for the:

2013 Daniel L. and Irma Evans Lecture

Date: Thursday, May 30

Time: 4:30pm

Location: Kane 220
Speaker: Professor Bernard Amadei

Title: “Engineering in Sustainable Human Development: Challenges and Opportunities”

Abstract: In the next two decades, almost two billion additional people are expected to populate the Earth, 95% of them in developing or underdeveloped countries. This growth will create unprecedented demands for energy, food, land, water, transportation, materials, waste disposal, earth moving, health care, environmental cleanup, telecommunication, and infrastructure. The role of engineers will be critical in fulfilling those demands at various scales, ranging from remote small communities to large urban areas, and mostly in the developing world.  In particular, we need to train a new generation of engineers who could better meet the challenges of the developing world and address the needs of the most destitute people on our planet. As we enter the first half of the 21st century, the engineering profession must embrace a new mission statement—to contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable, and equitable world.
This information (and a bit more) can be found on the UW CEE webpage (here). 

Friday, May 17, 2013

May 28 committee meeting

Our next committee meeting will be Tuesday, May 28, at noon at KPFF. Please note the change in date from our regular schedule. The main topic with be carbon sequestration and other wood topics.  An agenda and minutes from last month will be posted at this blog prior to the meeting. Let Adam know if you would like to join by audio/video conference.

Bullitt Center presentation

Today, members of the SEAW Sustainability Committee attended a presentation on the Bullitt Center hosted by Miller Hull and in coordination with ASCE's sustainability committee.

Jim Hanford and Steve Doub of Miller Hull described the building and the process of meeting the imperatives of the Living Building Challenge, focusing on materials, water and energy requirements. The building is designed to be net-zero energy over the course of a year, as well as net-zero water and to have stormwater runoff characteristics similar to the native forests that would have existed on site prior to development.

The Living Building Challenge is performance based, and requires measured performance prior to certification. The design values will have to be verified over a year of full occupancy. The building had its grand opening last month, but the one-year clock has not yet started, although the building is nearly fully leased.

Jim and Steve went into depth on the difficulties faced in terms of zoning, and ongoing regulatory issues with treating potable water on site.

Members of the SEAW and ASCE committees will tour the building next week.