The Greenest of the Green?

State, city leaders push to build the word’s most sustainable building

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune, Mar 5, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (14 Reader comments)

JONATHAN HOUSE / TRIBUNE PHOTO

A parking lot on Montgomery Street, between 4th and 5th avenues, would make way for a future 12-story "Living Building" structure that city and state leaders hope could be a symbol of Portland’s sustainability leadership.

State and city leaders are planning to construct the greenest building in the world near Portland State University — even though it may cost far more than the most environmentally friendly building ever built anywhere so far, at least in the short run.

The Sustainability Center of Excellence is envisioned as a symbol of the region’s leadership on environmental issues. The possible 12-story, 240,000-square-foot building is being pushed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Portland Mayor Sam Adams as a permanent home for a wide range of public agencies, private businesses and nonprofit organizations dedicated to sustainable development.

“The Portland area is the leader on green issues, and this building will help us keep that edge,” said Adams, who is working with the Oregon University System and Portland Development Commission on the project.

On Wednesday, the PDC chose a design team comprised of Gerding Edlen Development, SERA Architects and GBD Architects. The PDC will negotiate a contract for the study with the team. A decision on whether to proceed with the project will be made in June.

Kulongoski is asking the 2009 Oregon Legislature for $80 million in higher education bonding authority to construct the building. No one knows whether that will be enough for the building, however, or where any additional money will come from if the estimated costs are higher.

The problem is, no one has ever built such a building before. Plans call for it to be a so-called “living building,” a radical concept that — among other things — calls for the building to generate all of its own electricity, collect all of its water from rain and existing aquifers and recycle all of its waste water and sewage.

Some studies already suggest such a building could cost 12 percent to 52 percent more than the most environmentally advanced building being built today — those certified as LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council, the national nonprofit organization that developed the Leadership in Energy & Design Green Building Rating System used to rate sustainable buildings.

Adams said the project is worth pursuing, even if the initial costs are higher than conventional or even current sustainable buildings. According to Adams, the higher costs should be offset by energy and other savings over the life of the building.

“When Oregon and the region first adopted its land-use planning system, there were people who said that wouldn’t be affordable, either,” said Adams. “But they were proven wrong, and now the land-use system is one of our big draws.”

A consortium of 16 local environment-oriented organizations also supports the project. Most if not all of the members of the Living Building Initiative hope to move into the building once it is finished.

“We are committing to 10-year leases and some purchases, like condominiums,” said Andrea Durbin, executive director of the Oregon Environmental Council, one of the member organizations.

Durbin also believes the potentially high construction costs are worth it.

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