The project has a lot of interesting aspects. However the one I’m most interested in is the water angle. The building hopes to break the mold by capturing all its rainwater off the roof, which will be held in an underground cistern, according to Colleen Mitchell, project manager with 2020 Engineering. Then, some of the water will be treated by UV filters, pumped to faucets throughout the building and used as potable (or drinking) water. Some of the water will be sent to toilets, which will use one pint per flush. All waste from the toilets will be sent to a composting container in the basement, where it will slowly compost and be used for the building’s greenhouse. The greenhouse will run up the south side of the building with plants on each level. Urine from the toilets will go to four tanks in the basement where it will stabilize and be sterilized over a three-month time period. After three months, one part urine will be mixed with eight parts greywater (or the water that goes down faucets). That mix will be sent to the greenhouse where it will be evapotranspired by plants with nutrients from urine being used for fertilization.

I’ve got a rendering of what the system will look like here:

This is what the water system will look like. Click on image to enlarge.

Image courtesy 2020 Engineering

The system is incredibly cutting edge and will set an amazing precedent if permitted. And the ‘if,’ dear readers, is a big ‘if.’

Unfortunately, the precedent is one of the things that probably has permitting agencies worried. Last June, I attended a forum on water attended by a number of speakers. One of them was Steve Deem of the state health department. Going off the water grid is great in theory, he said, but architects, developers and engineers don’t generally understand that if a project provides water, it is responsible for the building’s water forever. That raises a lot of health and safety issues.

Secondly, there’s the issue of charges and rates. King County is in the process of building Brightwater, its massive, multi-million-dollar water treatment plant outside Woodinville. Brightwater gets paid for in part by capacity charges, fees and rates from users. From what I’ve heard from multiple sources, projects are welcome to go off the water grid, as long as they pay those hook up fees and charges. For most developers, this is a turnoff because they are paying twice - once for the water system and once for the hook up. Bullitt has yet to finalize these details with the county. Chris Rogers of development partner Point32 said, “There will be conversations with the county and other players to understand what sort of levies there will be for something that we don’t use.”

At that same June meeting, Christie True, director of the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, said it’s a social justice issue. If developers don’t pay for wastewater infrastructure, people with fewer resources will end up paying more.

Last April, Ray Hoffman, acting director of Seattle Public Utilities, said on-site water treatment is not moving forward in the Puget Sound area because of bureaucracy. “There are institutional barriers on both the public and private side that prevent things that are readily available from getting off the shelf and into the ground.”

These are some of the issues Bullitt faces in trying to go off the water grid. I don’t envy them the process but it will be an amazing achievement if they succeed.

When I asked him about the difficult code issues he was about to face, Denis Hayes of Bullitt said all agencies are on the same page in wanting to see innovative projects happen. “We’ll take that robust optimism until somebody in authority says we shouldn’t have it.”

What do you think, readers? Just how important is this project and what kind of a precedent will it set? Will it succeed in getting off the water grid and are the health and social justice issues valid concerns? I’d love to hear from you on this topic.

This is the third Built Green Conference I’ve attended. I went to sessions at last year’s event in Seattle and

Oberlin is already known for its Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies but the school is aiming to go further - much further in its commitment to green buildings

attended the 2007 event in Everett. Over that time, I think the attendance and focus of the conference has changed a lot. From my perspective, the event has gotten smaller… but more focused. Granted, this is all based on my memory, but in 2007, I remember it as a really large event with a large expo floor and session topics that were all over the place. Today’s event was smaller than what I remember in 2007. But it seemed like the people there had more experience or focused interest in green building. The session topics also provided a great breadth of experience and topics. Again, vendors on the expo floor were more targeted and focused towards green building products and materials rather than just having something to do (hopefully) with something green. Instead of trying to cram tons of topics into a short period of time, this conference seemed like it had thoughtfully gathered speakers and sessions. Then again, this is all just my perception.

Orr’s talk was an interesting one. One of the things I found most perceptive, was his impression of the future. As climate change advances and we begin to see the effects, he said “the biggest issue we face is going to be despair.” To counter that despair, we are going to need hope, he said - not optimism. Today, we are all optimistic, he said, though we don’t realize it. “The sweet spot is hope but hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up,” he said. “Despair you don’t have to do anything. Just sit and marinate.”

One of the things Orr spoke about that can lead to hope, at least in his community of Oberlin, Ohio is something called ‘The Oberlin Project.’ The project, one of 18 projects worldwide in the Clinton Climate Initiative, aims to show new ways that cities can grow in climate positive ways. The project is a revitalization of a 13-area block near the city center that will include the development or renovation of a dozen building in the next five to seven years, according to a press release from Oberlin College.

Orr said we need to move towards this type of community-wide development for green buildings. We’re doing great on green structures and are improving on green neighborhoods. Now, we need to make the next step to looking at the green community, he said.

If you attended, what did you think of Orr’s speak? What struck you most?

Bob Berkebile, founding principal of BNIM Architects

Donald Horn, assistant director of General Service Administration’s Office of Federal High Performance Green Buildings

Claire Johnson, head of the San Francisco office of environmental design and consulting firm Atelier Ten

Alex Steffen, executive editor of Worldchanging

and the moderator will be Nadav Malin, president of BuildingGreen LLC

These is a pretty impressive list of judges and their conversation on which projects should win promises to be equally interesting. If you want to attend the jurying session, it will be May 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Seattle City Hall as part of the Living Future 2010 Conference.

For further bios on the judges, visit AIA here.

So you want to re-decorate your windows, but you want to do it the most energy-efficient way possible,

One window treatment

to not only lower your utility bills, but reduce your carbon footprint as well. Fortunately, it is very possible to do this. All you need to do is look for a couple of things when selecting window treatments.

First, you want to make sure that the treatments you are choosing are made from renewable materials. If you are going the wood treatment route, only buy wood that is Forest Stewardship Council certified. FSC accredited certifiers evaluate both forest management activities and tracking of forest products. If not using wood treatments, go with natural fabrics like cotton, silk or hemp for draperies. Buying local is also helpful when it comes to energy efficiency. The shorter distance the material has to travel, the less energy it takes to get to you.

All window treatments offer some insulation, but some will provide more than others. In order to determine how much insulation is provided by a specific window treatment, you want to look at what is called the R-Value. This rates the treatment’s effectiveness in averting heat loss. You also want to evaluate the treatment by its Shading Coefficient, which is the measurement of heat coming through the window. A window treatment with a high R-value and a low Shading Coefficient would make for the ideal selection.

Air quality is third and final characteristic to look for in a window treatment. Plastic and faux wood blinds might contain polyvinyl chloride which releases carcinogenic dioxin into the air during production and contains plasticizer called phthalates, which can set off respiratory problems and inhibit the body’s hormonal systems. Again, choosing treatments that are made of renewable materials can help you avoid these problems.

While it may be impossible to find a treatment that adheres to all of the specifications above, knowing what to look for can help you find the treatment that is best for you and the environment.

The San Juan Channel House on San Juan Island, by Anna Howlen, D + A Studio, was one winner of last year's WMIG competition

For everyone that does not yet know, the What Makes it Green final submittal deadline in this Friday. What Makes it Green is an AIA Seattle awards program that honors the best in local green design.

The program honors both projects that are already built and those that are “on the boards” or planned.

AIA Seattle will shortlist project teams between April 12 and 16. Then, those teams will go through jury interviews as part of the Living Future Conference in May. A celebration for the winners and a panel discussin will be held in Seattle in early June.

For information on last year’s winners, click the tab ‘AIA’ below.

You should do it. Now. Just sayin’ is all…..

The student, Jamie Durbin, sounds pretty excited: “We are super passionate about our product: it would save

Is this your home?

energy and save consumer(s) $100+ on their annual energy bills. We are seeking venture capital at the competitions to launch our product line and hopefully serve the environmentally-minded (smart) consumer.”

Basically, the device senses when something switches to idle mode and can turn it off, saving energy.

Sounds kinda cool, eh? Here’s where you can help: Jamie’s team needs 1,000 respondents to an online survey. If you click here and spend 5 minutes, you could really help them out.

Overall, the product seems pretty handy. Even though I have power strips, there are often times when I simply forget to switch them off. Having a device do that automatically would take care of those moments.

Here’s a description of the product:

The controlled outlets have four main functions.

1) Able to sense when an appliance switches to idle mode

2) Able to turn the appliance off after a period of time in idle mode.  To achieve this functionality, the device will monitor how long an appliance has been in an idle power state and remove power when it has been in the idle mode for a user specified period of time.

3) Able to restore power to each appliance once the user wants to use the appliances again.  When the power is cut, the device will use a motion sensor to determine if anyone is around the device. If the motion sensor is tripped then it will reconnect power to the appliance; when the user turns the appliance off the cycle will begin again.

4) MOST IMPORTANT, the device will reduce power consumption.  The maximum expected consumption of the power strip itself will be under 1 watt. It will completely eliminate the standby power for the controlled appliances.

What do you think? Are they on the right track? If you think they are, answer the survey and help ‘em out.

The biggest, and most flamboyant by far, is a fundraiser for Great City called the “Fete du Flaneur.” The fete is a fundraiser for the nonprofit, which advocates for urban livability and sustainability. The nonprofit has

The event promises to be a fun time

also spawned a large portion of Seattle’s current mayoral administration, many of which will be in attendance. Mayor Mike McGinn, Great City’s founder, will be at the event, as will Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith and City Council Members Mike O’Brien and Tim Burgess.

The evening features never-ending drinks, munchies from local chefs (by Cafe Stellina and Sitka and Spruce), a silent auction, the crowing of the Great City-Cascade Land Conservancy Mustache Challenge and performance artists (a clown, an acrobat and Lily Verlaine burlesque).

Tickets are pretty well priced (compared to a general night on the town) at $45. So, if you’re in the mood to shmooze and watch some fun performances Thursday, it’s the place to be. For more information, go here. To buy tickets, go here. The event is at Melrose Market on Capitol Hill, a new space  being developed by Liz Dunn and Scott Shapiro.

On a more somber but no less interesting note, Helle Soholt of Denmark’s Gehl Architects will give a lecture on Tuesday on how Seattle can become the most walkable city in America. The lecture is at the Seattle Art Museum at 6 p.m.