GSA’s $72 million Seattle HQ requires performance
Somehow, I missed posting about a recent story I did on GSA's $72 million headquarters for the Seattle District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The story appeared in the June 27 edition of the DJC.
From a sustainable viewpoint, it's a fascinating project to consider. It's designed
The project aims to inspire a new era of sustainable workplaces with a goal of being the region's most energy efficient air conditioned building. Models say it will have an energy score of 100, placing it in the top 1 percent of U.S. buildings for energy performance. It may reach LEED platinum, uses geothermal heating and cooling combined with structural piles and is heavily daylit.
But what I think is one of the most interesting elements is GSA knew how much energy it wanted the building to use and asked competing shortlisted teams to demonstrate how they'd get there as part of awarding the project. It went a step further by also requiring the project prove its energy performance during its first year of operation, basically requiring a guarantee from the team.
Generally, anything like this is a big no-no, as I understand it. Under no circumstance, from a legal perspective, should a team guarantee to meet a requirement related to LEED or sustainability. But this is the GSA, the largest
As LEED continues to proliferate and green building fades into the background even further as just a part of good building, do you think this type of performance requirement will become more common? Or is this just a one-time deal?
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August 16th, 2011 - 08:28
It is noteworthy that the GSA required competing firms to meet a standard of energy use in their proof of concepts, this probably foreshadows the more widespread adoption of such standards,as clients seek to more accuately price energy costs and firms look to differentiate themselves from the competition. This will hopefully further the prevalence of green features in new buildings and developments.
September 6th, 2011 - 07:37
What a fascinating development, this article is the first I have seen of this new building. What I find most interesting is how they are going to make it the regions most energy efficient air conditioned building. Everybody knows how inefficient ‘air-con’ is, and it will be iunteresting to see how they get their head around it, espcially in a building of this size!
September 16th, 2011 - 06:21
This building is incredible! I love the combination of the wooden cladding and Soffits and the metal fascia! Very space age. I agree with Peter’s comment however! It will be very interesting to see if they can make it truly economical with an air-con system in place.