New civic buildings are planned with the environment in mind

At the new Justice Center, an eco-friendly roof made of layers of soil and vegetation will provide insulation as it collects rainwater to irrigate the surrounding landscape.

The new City Hall will use a 1 million-gallon cistern to hold enough rainwater to flush all toilets in the seven-story building.

Reconstituted coffee bags will line the elevator lobby floors of Key Tower. Recycled steel and dry ash will be used in the new opera house at Seattle Center.

With energy prices soaring and global warming a threat, the city that leads the nation in recycling is polishing its emerald image. From the new Central Library to the new Civic Center, Seattle's civic buildings are going green -- being built with energy efficiency, water conservation, recycled materials and improved environmental quality in mind.

"It just makes good business sense," said City Architect Fulton "Tony" Gale. "It's a great way to build infrastructure and buildings without harming the environment and still provide us with what we need."Seattle was the first city in the country to adopt the U.S. Green Building Council's rating system for eco-friendly buildings known as LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Portland and Austin, Texas, have followed suit.

"Seattle is clearly one of the recognized leaders," said Christine Ervin, the council's president and chief executive officer. The council sets up a four-level system that grants platinum, gold, silver or standard ratings based on how environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy a building is.

Seattle is pursuing a "silver" rating for new and renovated city buildings larger than 5,000 square feet. It is also considering ways to expand green building to the private sector.

Green building reflects changing values, said Bert Gregory, president of Mithun Partners architectural firm and the principal in charge of the REI flagship store in Seattle, one of the first private buildings to incorporate eco-friendly designs.

"It's really simple stuff," Gregory said. "We want to work in nice places. We want to increase our productivity. We don't want to affect our environment. We want to save energy, which saves money."

Under the rating system, buildings get green points for providing showers and bicycle storage to commuters, maximizing workers' access to daylight and window views, using recycled materials, conserving energy and water or minimizing the need for parking.

At the new City Hall, individual workstations will have low-level cubicles for better daylight access, environment-friendly furniture and recycled carpet.

A raised floor system allows personalized temperature and vent controls to reduce energy cost. Wood will be used from certified forests. Light shelves on the south wall will help reflect light to the natural light deeper into the building.

Compared with where he now works, Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, an architect by trade, said the new City Hall likely will function better. There will be more meeting rooms, more comfortable sitting spaces and a lunchroom, which the current City Hall lacks.

Councilman Richard Conlin, chairman of the sustainability committee, said the goal is to make structures as comfortable as possible for people who work or live in them. "Daylighting" and better ventilation cut down on illness, improve worker productivity and reduce absenteeism, he said.

But the new City Hall and Key Tower don't go completely green in this regard. One element of building green calls for locating conference rooms and hard-walled offices as close to the elevator cores as possible to provide access to natural light and views for a majority of workers.

Yet a team of decision makers, including the mayor, several council members and city staffers, voted to keep their hard-walled offices near windows. To maintain privacy, the offices of the mayor, council members and law department are exempted from the daylighting and open layout standards.

"Frankly, it was a major employee debate around here because people are used to having privacy," Steinbrueck said. "Some were adamant to enclosed walls."

Conlin said, "It's one of those difficult situations, trying to balance sustainability with people's needs and requests. We haven't gotten exactly where I would want us to go."

Green-building critics wonder whether the higher upfront costs of erecting such structures is worth it.

"The question I have is, do we get our money's worth or are there other improvements that can be made that accomplish the same thing?" Councilman Richard McIver asked.

Gale estimated that green building may cost anywhere from 4 percent to 10 percent more than other building. Although initial costs are more expensive, he and other proponents point to the payback in energy and water savings through the life cycle of the building.

At the Justice Center, a new eco-roof is intended to reduce roof maintenance costs, provide insulation and collect rainwater.

Part of its roof will be constructed of a thin membrane on which several inches of soil and vegetation are placed. The rest of the roof will be an open deck on which people can walk.

One wall facing Fifth Avenue will be constructed of a so-called "double-skin wall," or two glass walls separated by 30 inches, which help regulate heat gain and loss while maintaining views of Elliott Bay on the courts side of the building. It's so "jurors could go out and clear their heads," Gale said.

The Central Library will include showers for employees and bicycle racks for employees and visitors. The new McGraw Performance Hall will have new energy-efficient theatrical lighting. It likely will use wood from certified forests, recycle products used during construction and use materials such as paints that emit low levels of chemicals.

"I do expect that we'll do it, but it will be a challenge," said Stephanie Van Dyke, senior project manager at the Seattle Center. "We're trying to find the balance between what things we can get that don't cost extra that we can put in our design process and others where we consider payback."

GOING GREEN

Seattle was the first city in the country to adopt the U.S. Green Building Council's rating system for eco-friendly buildings known as LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Portland and Austin, Texas, have followed suit.

Seattle is pursuing a "silver" rating for new and renovated city buildings larger than 5,000 square feet. It is also considering ways to expand green building to the private sector.

P-I reporter Phuong Cat Le can be reached at 206-448-8336 or phuongle@seattle-pi.com