Exibit of findings by Mithunee Christina Bump's AIA Emerging Professional Travel Scholarship . 04.01 - 04.30.2010, Seattle, WA.

Principal Debra Guenther on evaluating the social and ecological performance of an entire site. 05.06.2010 10am, Seattle, WA.

Ten years after moving into a renovated pier on Seattle’s waterfront, Mithun’s office continues to act as a living laboratory for sustainable strategies.

Besides extensive use of reclaimed and recycled lumber for the tenant improvements, the 36,000-square-foot Pier 56 serves as a showplace for Mithun’s deep green design approach. Operable clerestory windows run the length of the building, admitting daylight and sufficient ventilation for the office to take full advantage of natural cooling during summer months. The design also features durable, salvaged wood and low-VOC finishes throughout in the oriented strand board flooring, open frame office partitions, and solid core doors.

Continue reading at Eco-Structure.com.

The Taylor 28 project originally targeted basic LEED® certification—receipt of Silver certification is a significant achievement, given the project’s schedule and budget constraints. Reaching Silver level results from the exceptional effort the team made to find creative and pragmatic solutions that fit the unique circumstances of the site and building. The project also closely reflects the mission that drives the developer, BRE Properties; to provide highly desirable communities in which residents and commercial tenants can live and work, and to support a thriving green lifestyle within a dense urban framework.

Stemming from site constraints created by the Denny Way corridor and the absence of a Neighborhood Planning Area guideline, a critical goal for the project was to assess opportunities for reconnecting this unclaimed community and enhancing the public realm. The project turns what would be a typical sidewalk zone into a vibrant pedestrian open space system. This new open space system defines this neighborhood as a destination; reconnecting it to Belltown, Uptown, the Seattle Center and South Lake Union.

Green infrastructure components, considered integral to the streetscape design, achieve sustainability across the spectrum of social, ecological and economic success. Strategies to rebalance the neighborhood’s ecological footprint include rainwater infiltration, urban heat island reduction, improved air quality, carbon reduction, urban tree canopy restoration and fostering urban habitat.

The Mithun design team (Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning) included Jim Bodoia, Max Anderson, Mat Lipps, Dave Pawlowski, T Frick, and Sara Raab. The consultant team included Chris Webb, PE (Stormwater Specialist); Brightworks (Sustainability Advisor ); Bush, Roed & Hitchings, Inc. (Civil Engineering); Golder Associates (Geotechnical Engineering); Heffron Transportation, Inc. (Traffic Engineering); Interface Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical Engineering); Yu & Trochalakis, PLLC (Structural Engineering); Faulkner Design Group (Interior Designer); Scott AG (Signage Designer).

A few of the notable elements of this project include:

• Downtown, Mixed-use, Infill Development – BRE Properties redeveloped an existing downtown site for Taylor 28 to promote density, provide access to public transit and community resources, and remediate site contamination. In addition to ground floor retail, residents also have access to a fitness center, outdoor courtyards and gathering spaces, and a business center.
• Alternative Transportation – In order to reduce residents’ dependence on cars, the project is located along the dense urban grid network of bicycle routes, major metro bus routes, and Seattle’s unique Monorail. The design includes bicycle parking for both residents and retail customers and preferred parking for fuel efficient vehicles.
• Stormwater treatment – Zero discharge for both on-site and right-of-way rainwater at the sidewalk level are designed for the 25-year storm event. Strategies for achieving the goal included the use of permeable concrete, planting areas designed as urban rain gardens and an on-site 16,000 gallon cistern that slowly releases rainwater quantities via a “smart” irrigation system and non-residential toilet flushing, minimizing water leaving the site through an over-burdened CSO pipe system.
• Rainwater Capture and Reuse – Rainwater from the roof, stored in the cistern, is used for 100% of the rain garden irrigation, as well as to flush toilets in the retail areas. Using rainwater for irrigation reduces the use of potable water for this purpose by over 58,000 gallons annually. Over 64,000 gallons of rainwater are used annually to flush toilets in the retail areas, representing an annual reduction of potable water use of 67%.
• Water Efficiency – High efficiency dual flush toilets and other fixtures, such as low flow shower heads and aerated faucets in bathroom and kitchen sinks, decrease overall building water usage by 31%. Relative to standard fixtures and no rainwater reuse, this represents an overall savings of 1.1 million gallons per year.
• Energy Efficiency – The project implemented numerous energy efficiency measures, including the use of Energy Star appliances, higher efficiency mechanical equipment, high performance windows, and user actuated lighting was installed in common building spaces.
• Urban Heat Island Reduction- Installation of more than 40 new trees for pavement shading, use of high-albedo paving and roof materials. 100% of the parking placed below grade, reducing heat island effect as well as toxic runoff.
• Green Power – The project purchases green power to cover 70% of the project’s electricity load.
• Healthy Occupant Experience – The design maximizes daylight in many of the spaces; thermal comfort and lighting controls are provided; the entire building is non-smoking; and construction practices and finishes were selected to minimize the contamination of indoor spaces with pollutants.
• Responsible Material Use – The project construction team diverted 68% (3,800 tons) of the construction waste from landfills and used 12% recycled content and 21% locally-sourced and manufactured materials.
• Transforming a car focused corridor into a public destination – Taylor 28 establishes a new urban design standard for the City of Seattle by returning underutilized roadway width to the community for pedestrian-friendly, public use. The project is one of the first residential, mixed-use developments within a transitioning neighborhood near Seattle Center. Approved for the entirety of Taylor Avenue, the elements introduced by this project include the first of a series of intersections between green-street and plaza-street; the first of its kind for privately funded streets designed as open space within the City of Seattle.
• Quality of space – The project provides an attractive, vibrant pedestrian experience with thoughtful detailing throughout. Taylor Avenue serves as a magnet into the neighborhood, providing a strong sense of place that encourages walking and community interaction within the outdoor spaces and a convergence between the residential and commercial uses. Eyes onto the street through retail spill-out and residential entries create a 24-hour use interaction that results in an exciting, safe place within the neighborhood. User connection with nature within this urban, built environment elevates the human spirit and connection to place.

TreeHugger hasn't covered a lot of single family houses this year, even if they are green to the gills; they are rarely in urban settings, often expensive and not good poster children for how we are going to have to design our communities in the future.

[...] Preston at Jetson Green shows us the coolest little project that I have seen in a long time. It's affordable housing for working people in the San Juan Islands, some of the most expensive real estate in the country, built by the Lopez Community Land Trust and designed by Mithun.

Continue reading The Year In Green Modern Homes or skip straight to Green Net-Zero Energy Housing by Mithun Shows How It's Done, both by Lloyd Alter on treehugger.com. The Lopez Community Land Trust project has also been featured on Jetson Green, most recently in the article 62 Innovative Green Homes of 2009.

What makes great public spaces work? And what makes some public spaces “greener” than others? The National Building Museum’s Great Green Places video series looks at the specific elements that make certain public spaces so successful.

There are 11 videos as of this writing, including Mithun’s Taylor 28 project video. Check them out!

The green features in this building reflect Mithun’s widespread commitment to sustainable architecture as well as what is becoming the norm in LEED and even some non-LEED projects: geothermal heating/cooling, sun-shading (largely dictating the building’s appearance), stormwater collection and reuse, regional materials, recycled materials. It is a straightforward building executed skillfully and thoughtfully, educating the residents about sustainability as much as their classes.

A weekly dose of architecture, written by John Hill, looks at contemporary architectural works with architectural and/or cultural significance. The broad focus of the articles is the ideas embedded within the works.

Read the full article and view an image gallery at archidose.org

Watch this and other videos on the official Mithun podcast (iTunes). Other formats: MP4 (iPhone), YouTube , Vimeo, Facebook.

Last week in the Greenbuild 2009 panel Urban Food Systems: From Vertical Agriculture to District-level Food Strategies, Mithun systems ecologist Critter Thompson and his co-panelists discussed urban food systems and the role food production, distribution, consumption and recycling plays in helping to shape sustainable urban communities. He also spoke about the Center For Urban Agriculture – a conceptual high-rise net-zero vertical farm Mithun designed for the Cascadia Green Building Council’s 2007 Living Building Challenge.

A few conference-goers were hoping for more information on CUA so the Mithun video team provided an update that includes more on community impact and urban food production (above).

The international jury gave equal attention to projects of all types and scales. Novelty Hill Januik especially impressed jurors with its merging of hospitality and production, and indoors and outdoors, even helping to preserve the adjacent wetland.

Read AIA Seattle’s full awards announcement.

KCTS 9, the largest nonprofit public television station in the Pacific Northwest, was one of only seven organizations to receive The Kresge Foundation's Green Building Initiative (GBI) planning grant from among 114 applicants nationwide. In making the award, The Kresge Foundation stated, "We were impressed by [KCTS 9's] plans and commitment to developing an environmentally sustainable facility." (source: KCTS.org press release)

Funds from this grant will allow KCTS 9 to plan a high-performing LEED building through necessary renovations to its 23-year-old facility. The grant will also enable the station to explore a Living Building Challenge addition to its current facility. Mithun provided pro-bono design work and grant writing assistance. The DJC has picked up the story and interviewed several Mithunees involved in the project:

David Walsh, senior associate at Mithun, said there are three major components the team is considering: a LEED for existing buildings platinum renovation, a green roof and a Living Building addition.

The existing building needs a lot of work, such as mechanical and electrical system upgrades, infrastructure upgrades, and passive technologies like daylighting and natural cooling zones. Walsh said the energy and water savings will allow KCTS to focus more on its mission. [...] "It's a great opportunity for them to reduce their utility costs and really be able to direct their hard earned budget into more core of their mission, i.e. programming. In many ways, it's conservation as a form of fund-raising."

[...]

Brendan Connolly, associate principal at Mithun, said the project is exciting because of the LEED-EB platinum goal.

"There's so much that requires help and improvement and greater work," he said. "The opportunity here is to create a real and very relevant focus on improvement to existing buildings."

Read the full article, KCTS wants new station to be model for nonprofits by Katie Zemtseff on DJC.com (subscription required).

Related:
• News » High Point Celebrates Rental Housing Completion
• Projects » High Point
• Knowldege » Restoring A Community

When every manufacturer is touting its environmental story, how do you source genuinely sustainable products and materials?

Mithun interior designer, Christa Jansen, IIDA, LEED AP answers:

Sustainability encompasses social as well as environmental factors. I avoid using products that may be made using questionable labor practices or in conditions that are hazardous to workers. If a product and its manufacture are contributing positively to a community, that's ideal.

Read more of what Christa and interiors experts spanning North America have to say on the topic in the latest issue or using Metropolis Magazine's online magazine viewer.

An early concept model of Capitol Hill Park. © Mithun.

From the Seattle Parks and Recreation project page for the Capitol Hill Park:

The essence of the preferred plan is the creation of an open canvas for community use. The main project component is a large, level turf area in the middle of the site that is bordered by a collective garden to the north and a crushed rock plaza and allee (a pathway lined with trees) to the south.

Groundbreaking Ceremony & Poetry Reading
Saturday, October 3, 2009, 4 - 5 p.m.
in the parking lot 16th & Howell

• Capitol Hill Park Development Pro Parks Project Information
• Friends of Capitol Hill Park
• Captiol Hill Seattle blog » Celebrate groundbreaking on Capitol Hill's newest green space
• Capitol Hill Komo blog » Celebrate your new park!

Several Mithunees took the ferry to Bainbridge Island in July to revisit IslandWood, a 255-acre experiential environmental education center. We posted some pictures from JuliaE, who says:

"It really was a great atmosphere on site - like you are a million miles away from everything and everybody. The bridge across the ravine makes you (or at least me!) feel like you are in the jungle, the tower that brings you up to the top of the trees made you feel like an eagle - and it was a little shaky/scary, too!

Related:
• Mithun » Projects » IslandWood
• Mithun » News » Forest Ecology Lookout Tower at IslandWood
• IslandWood.org - read about the school's sustainable design features or schedule a site tour.
• IslandWood Site Visit 7/2009 photoset on Flickr.