By Vicki Zambito
Construction on the world’s greenest office building has begun in Seattle. Groundbreaking on the Bullitt Center at 15th Avenue and East Madison in the city’s Capitol Hill area began on Monday. The six-story building has been designed to produce as much energy as it consumes. Consider these items:
- The building will provide all its own water
- The building will process all its own sewage
- Timber for the building will come only from forests certified as sustainable
- The steel, concrete, wood, and other heavy materials will all come from within 300 miles
- Parking will be provided for bikes – not cars
- Building materials that contain hazardous substances won’t be used
Building a building this green costs some green. It is estimated that the building’s super sustainable features increase the building’s upfront costs by nearly one-third. But the building’s owner still expects to make money. Four of the six floors already have signed future tenants who are willing to pay a premium to locate there. Jason McLennan, CEO of the Cascadia Green Building Council, calls the construction project, “the most important building being built in the country today.”
Learn more about this story by watching this video: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/mediacenterbc3.html?bctid=1127563044001
No comments:
Post a Comment