flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

This will be the largest Living Building in the world

Sustainability

This will be the largest Living Building in the world

ZGF Architects is designing the building.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | April 16, 2020
PAE Living Building exterior

All images courtesy PAE and ZGF

A new 58,000-sf mixed-use project will be Portland's first certified Living Building, Oregon's largest Living Building, and the largest certified Living Building in the world.

Designed to last 500 years, the building has a projected Energy Use Index (EUI) of 18.6 kBtu/SF/YR; a typical Portland office building built to code has a EUI of 40.8 kBtu/SF/YR. A 133 kW PV solar array will occupy 8,300 sf on the building's roof and another 195.4 kW PV array will occupy 10,300 sf on the roof of a partner organization.

The building will also include a 71,000 gallon cistern in the basement comprising 62,500 gallons of rainwater storage and 8,500 gallons of stormwater detention. All of the building’s water and energy needs will be produced via rainwater capture, and the onsite and offsite solar arrays. 

 

 

A five-story vacuum flush composting waste system will be included as well as a urinal-to-fertilizer system that transforms waste to resource. Additionally, 70% of the building perimeter spaces can be ventilated or cooled with operable windows and 65% of regularly occupied spaces will be daylit throughout the year.

 

PAE Living Building interior

 

The building's first floor will include retail, a 40-stall bike storage, showers, restrooms, lockers, and a fitness center for building occupant use. The second floor will feature Class A Commercial Office space available for lease, while floors three through five will have office space to be occupied by PAE, the project's MEP engineer.

The project is scheduled for a 2020 groundbreaking with an anticipated completion date in 2021. KPFF is the structural and civil engineer and Gerding Edlen is the developer.

 

PAE Living Building exterior at night

 

Related Stories

| Aug 16, 2022

DOE funds 18 projects developing tech to enable buildings to store carbon

The Department of Energy announced $39 million in awards for 18 projects that are developing technologies to transform buildings into net carbon storage structures.

| Aug 15, 2022

Boston high-rise will be largest Passive House office building in the world

Winthrop Center, a new 691-foot tall, mixed-use tower in Boston was recently honored with the Passive House Trailblazer award.

Hotel Facilities | Aug 12, 2022

Denver builds the nation’s first carbon-positive hotel

Touted as the nation’s first carbon-positive hotel, Populus recently broke ground in downtown Denver.

Energy Efficiency | Aug 11, 2022

Commercial Energy Efficiency: Finally “In-the-Money!”

By now, many business leaders are out in front of policymakers on prioritizing the energy transition.

| Aug 8, 2022

Mass timber and net zero design for higher education and lab buildings

When sourced from sustainably managed forests, the use of wood as a replacement for concrete and steel on larger scale construction projects has myriad economic and environmental benefits that have been thoroughly outlined in everything from academic journals to the pages of Newsweek.

Sponsored | | Aug 4, 2022

Brighter vistas: Next-gen tools drive sustainability toward net zero line

New technologies, innovations, and tools are opening doors for building teams interested in better and more socially responsible design. 

| Aug 4, 2022

Newer materials for green, resilient building complicate insurance underwriting

Insurers can’t look to years of testing on emerging technology to assess risk.

| Aug 4, 2022

Newer materials for green, resilient building complicate insurance underwriting

Insurers can’t look to years of testing on emerging technology to assess risk.

Sustainability | Aug 4, 2022

To reduce disease and fight climate change, design buildings that breathe

Healthy air quality in buildings improves cognitive function and combats the spread of disease, but its implications for carbon reduction are perhaps the most important benefit.

K-12 Schools | Aug 1, 2022

Achieving a net-zero K-12 facility is a team effort

Designing a net-zero energy building is always a challenge, but renovating an existing school and applying for grants to make the project happen is another challenge entirely.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category

Mass Timber

Mass timber a big part of Western Washington University’s net-zero ambitions

Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Wash., 90 miles from Seattle, is in the process of expanding its ABET-accredited programs for electrical engineering, computer engineering and science, and energy science. As part of that process, the university is building Kaiser Borsari Hall, the 54,000-sf new home for those academic disciplines that will include teaching labs, research labs, classrooms, collaborative spaces, and administrative offices.




halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021