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Summary
GGLO is part of a team comprised of some of the Seattle area's leading green building professionals that have formed The Restorative Design Collective to build a cutting-edge green science building for the Bertschi School, an independent elementary school on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Working pro bono, the team is designing the new science building to meet the standards of the Living Building Challenge, a "deep-green" building program which encourages projects to achieve self-sufficiency by generating all of their own energy with renewable resources, harvesting and treating all of their own water on site, and operating at maximum levels of efficiency with a healthy indoor environment.
GGLO Team:
Mark Sindell, Zack Thomas |
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The Restorative Design Collective
Founded in 2009 by Stacy Smedley and Chris Hellstern of KMD Architects, The Restorative Design Collective is a group of Seattle-area design professionals who share the desire to push themselves and their firms to the forefront of the sustainable building movement. Members of the Collective recognize and endeavor to further the Living Building Challenge which plays an essential role in raising green building standards, meeting the 2030 Challenge and creating net zero buildings: |
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Architectural Design:
Landscape Architecture:
Civil Engineering:
Geotechnical Engineering:
Structural Engineering:
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing:
Sustainability Consultant:
Food Systems Consultant:
PublicRelationsServices:
Preconstruction/Construction Services: |
KMD Architects
GGLO
2020 Engineering
GeoEngineers
Quantum Consulting Engineers
Rushing
O’Brien and Company
Back To Nature Design LLC
Parsons Public Relations
Skanska |
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Also collaborating are the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, King County GreenTools, and the City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development Green Building Program. |
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The Living Building Challenge
Since its inception three years ago, the Living Building Challenge has gained global recognition as the most radical and revolutionary green building standard. The Living Building Challenge is a program initially launched and currently operated by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council. It serves as a challenge to builders, owners, architects, engineers, and design professionals to create buildings that are net-zero energy, net-zero water, and use resources efficiently and for maximum beauty. There are currently more than 70 proposed Living Buildings in the design or construction phase, as well as three completed projects in the one year verification phase, awaiting certification. |
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The Project: The Bertschi School Science Building
An independent elementary school known for its integrated, innovative program, Bertschi School has a strong commitment to sustainability and incorporates this focus into both its curriculum and operations. In 2007, the school completed construction on its main building, The Bertschi Center, which is the first LEED Gold certified elementary classroom building in Washington State.
The new Science Building is an opportunity for the Bertschi School to take their committment to sustainability to the next level, to create a "Living Building." With only a handful of local construction projects following the Living Building Challenge’s guidelines, Bertschi School’s new science building – slated for completion in November of 2010 – has the potential to be the first Living Building finished in the State of Washington. |
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First and foremost, the successful design of a building that meets the demanding, multi-faceted requirements of the Living Building Challenge calls for an interdisciplinary, integrated approach to design. To that end, the design process began with a series of workshops in which the entire project team participated. Key design ideas that emerged from the colloborative workshops included:
For the site:
Urban Agriculture (ethno-botanical gardens)
Habitat exchange that relates to curriculum
Rain Gardens
Green Wall (inside/outside)
Expressive Cisterns
Demonstration Garden that relates to composting toilet
Porous paving for hardscape/drama performance area
Indoor-Outdoor spaces – operable walls/windows
Local natural systems interpretation - salmon and watershed
For the building:
Photovoltaics
Solar Hot Water
Composting Toilets
Natural ventilation – ‘breathing building’
Greenhouse
Strong interactive/educational component
Express structure and building form
The resulting conceptual design for the project is shown in the building rendering and landscape plans below: |
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GGLO's landscape plan includes the following site features:
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Ethno-botanical landscape for ‘urban agriculture’
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Green roof composed of a tapestry of mosses
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Indoor-Outdoor Green wall
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Rain gardens for stormwater infiltration
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‘Outdoor Classroom’ with porous paving and interactive educational elements, including a rain runnel fed by cisterns
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Rainwater harvesting – system of two cisterns to capture rainwater and grey water for use in the building and in the landscape |
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| Proposed concepts for highly efficient heating and water systems are illustrated below: |
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