May 18, 2018

Oregon winery wins Living Building certification, and cork siding helped

Photos by Claire Thorington [enlarge]

A rooftop solar array has produced 175 percent of the total energy needed. Water is provided by a closed-loop system.

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The tasting room at Cowhorn Vineyard is the first commercial building in Oregon and the first winery to earn the top green building standard.

The tasting room at Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden in Jacksonville, Oregon, has earned Living Building certification, according to Green Hammer, which designed and built it.

The Portland-based firm said this is the first commercial building in Oregon and the first winery to earn the most rigorous green building standard.

Only 20 buildings worldwide have achieved Living Building certification, according to the ILFI.

The tasting room is 2,200 square feet and includes a case storage area. It opened last May at 1665 Eastside Road and was certified a year later.

The Living Building certification was developed by the International Living Future Institute. It is based on actual — not modeled or anticipated — performance that considers environmental, social and community impacts.

The tasting room had to operate for at least 12 consecutive months prior to achieving the certification.

Since it opened, a 15.96-kilowatt rooftop solar array has produced 175 percent of the building's total energy needs, Green Hammer said. All the water is provided by a closed-loop system. Water is supplied by an on-site well, treated on site and restored to the groundwater.

Green Hammer said all materials — from hardware to drywall — are free of toxic and bio-accumulative substances, and only Forest Stewardship Council–certified wood was used.

The building envelope is airtight and super-insulated, and the building uses an advanced heat recovery ventilation system and a heat pump water heater. The tasting room also has LED lights and triple-pane windows.

Exterior materials include unfinished cedar siding and Cor-Ten metal roofing to reference historic barns in the area. Cork siding was also used because of its connection to wine.

Cowhorn is a certified organic and biodynamic winery in Southern Oregon. Its 25-acre vineyard produces about 4,000 cases of wine a year — a mix of syrah, grenache, viognier and white Rhone blends.

Barbara Steele, winemaker and co-owner, said, “Our farming and winemaking philosophy is similar to our building philosophy — by focusing on restorative rather than extractive processes, we produce higher-quality wine with fewer resources. People can taste the difference when they drink our wine, and they can feel the difference when they walk in the tasting room.”

The project team also included 2Yoke Design, interior design; Structural Department, structural engineering; and Solid Ground Landscapes, landscape design. Technical assistance came from Energy Trust of Oregon's Path to Net Zero Program and the International Living Future Institute.