OREGON SUSTAINABILITY CENTER Living Building Eco-Charrette Report April 6–10, 2009 prepared by building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs design team 2 building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs table of contents executive summary ............................................ 5 monday ................................................................. 8 welcome, introductory presentations, collaboration commitment, design slam tuesday ................................................................. 14 programming: the osc experience, multi-scale issues and opportunities, osc work environment wednesday ........................................................... 24 design strategies: building envelope, energy, water, materials thursday ................................................................ 27 iconic & beauty, design visions, district considerations, overarching principles, initial design concepts friday ................................... ................................. 35 stakeholder group meeting, open house conclusion .......................... ................................. 36 appendices A: charrette agenda ...................................... 38 B: LBC prerequisites ..................................... 40 C: preliminary LEED assessment .................. 42 D: draft research agenda .............................. 44 E: charrette artifacts .................................... 47 F: presentation slides ................................... 85 building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs 3 building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs 4 Overview The week of April 6-10, over eighty stakeholders and project team members (participants) gathered to participate in an Eco-charrette for the new Oregon Sustainability Center (OSC). The OSC is a 240,000-sf offce building to be located downtown Portland, Oregon that will house a collective of private, non-proft, academic and public organizations collaborating to accelerate growth and innovation in Oregon’s green economy. The Eco-charrette kicked off a Phase I Feasibility Study funded by the Portland Development Commission (PDC) to determine the fnancial and technical feasibility of achieving the ambitious Living Building Challenge (LBC) Standard for the project. The Eco-charrette resulted in the development of key design principles, concepts and direction for the project team to generate a schematic design and cost-estimates for the project over the 90-day period of the Phase I. The outcome of Phase I will determine the desirability and feasibility of the OSC, including the potential to achieve the LBC. OregOn SuStainability Center PrOjeCt The (PDC); City of Portland (City) as represented by the Portland + Oregon Sustainability Institute (P+OSI); the State of Oregon (State), acting by and through the State Board of Higher Education and its Oregon University System (OUS); and the Oregon Living Building Initiative (OLBI), a consortium of leading sustainability-focused organizations; partnered for the ambitious purpose of developing and operating a world-class multi-story offce building called the “Oregon Sustainability Center” (OSC). The OSC will become the state’s green economy portal to accelerate business opportunities for Oregon’s sustainable industries, scale and expand best practices, and provide a home for cross-sector strategic collaboration. It will function as a hub of research on sustainable practices, public policy, private business and economic development, networking, outreach and training with the intent of catalyzing growth in Oregon’s green economy. In addition to these programmatic functions, the building will be a physical manifestation of Oregon’s commitment to sustainability and pursues the Living Building Challenge Standard. The OSC will be developed on PDC-owned property at SW Montgomery Street and SW 5th Avenue and adjacent to the Portland State University campus in downtown Portland, Oregon and will be implemented in two phases: Phase I: Feasibility Study and Development (Current through Spring 2009) Phase II: Design and Construction (~2009-2012, depending on outcome of Phase I) The PDC selected a team to execute the Phase I Feasibility Study through a competitive RFP process (RFP: http://pdc.us/pdf/rfps/2009/RFP-08-23-Sustainability-Ctr.pdf), which is now underway and includes the following scope items: • Predevelopment/Due Diligence • Development Program and Schematic Design • Preliminary Development Budget • Project Schedule building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs 5 executive summary The outcome of Phase I will determine the desirability and feasibility of the OSC, including the potential to achieve the Living Building Challenge. living building Challenge The LBC is widely-regarded as the most rigorous sustainability standard for buildings and sites and pursuit of the LBC requires strong expertise, collaboration, analysis and diligence. The LBC differs from LEED in that it seeks absolute, rather than incremental, building and site performance (i.e. net zero energy instead of 20% better than code) and is comprised of sixteen prerequisites, rather than a host of optional credits and certifcation thresholds as in LEED. In addition it requires documentation of actual performance through at least one year of operations, rather than modeled or predicted performance. Achievement of the LBC standard is extremely challenging in any project and the level of diffculty generally increases with project size. Some projects have achieved one or more of the prerequisites within the LBC, but no one project has achieved all of the LBC requirements. Available: http://www.cascadiagbc.org/lbc/lbc-v1.3.pdf. eCO-Charrette A group of stakeholders and design team members participated in an Eco-charrette the week of April 6-10 to kickoff Phase I of the project. The intent of the Eco-charrette was to set collaborative working relationships across the design team, elicit stakeholder ideas and input and to develop and evolve the design direction for the project. The Eco-charrette was purposefully designed to address the uniqueness of the project: High profle- The OSC intends to be an iconic structure, catalyst for Oregon’s green economy and nexus for multi- sector collaboration. A successful project will result in international recognition for the project’s ability to be a direct, physical manifestation of the building’s programmatic intent. Scale- Approximately one hundred people representing a broad range of interests, engagement and stake in the OSC participated in the fve-day Eco-charrette. Performance- The OSC seeks to, at a minimum, have the least possible impact during construction and zero impact during operations and aspires to have a restorative effect on Oregon’s social, economic and environmental health. Team- The project team is comprised of Portland, Oregon-based frms that each has vast, demonstrated experience in applying green building and sustainability. The notion is that, collectively, this team has the potential to generate an extraordinary project that meets or exceeds the project objectives. People- The OSC is distinguished by the intent to be a place that, through design and governance, facilitates collaboration across tenants and partners. This intentional 6 building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs co-location and collaboration aims to be an engine that advances Oregon’s green economy. The week’s agenda provided the structure for a process of enabling the team and stakeholders to think, communicate and collaborate with the unencumbered creativity warranted by the high aspirations of the project. Specifcally, participants were asked to participate in an array of unconventional ways including a Living Building Slam in which participants were asked to provide a hypothetical restorative project in one hour; singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”; developing a Living Building product; silently envisioning and then articulating the “ideal workspace”; identifying programming issues at multiple scales through “problem seeking” in the pursuit of a Living Building; developing a prospective research agenda for and by the project; and devising design concepts that begin to integrate all of this work. Ultimately, a clear set of design principals emerged from the process that will help the project team vet their design approach moving forward. Throughout the session the agenda and charrette space created a “sweet spot” to work in that suffciently escaped convention yet generated meaningful and actionable direction for the project team. OutCOme From the many hours of creative thinking, problem seeking and solving, learning, listening, application and refection emerged fve Core OSC Principles to guide the Phase I design of the project (see page 31 for more detailed narratives on these principles): 1 appropriately scale systems for optimal performance 2 make less do more 3 design for resource equity 4 integrate natural systems to benefit all species 5 recognize that people are the life in living buildings The Core OSC Principles are the primary criteria by which the design team will make and evaluate decisions to marry the performance goals of the Living Building Challenge and the objectives of the OSC. Each Principle is supported by the collaborative groundwork that took place each day of Eco-charrette and the information and relationships it generated. With this information and guidance, the design team embarks on Phase I to identify where in the spectrum of intent and feasibility lays the potential for the OSC. building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs 7 The frst day of the Eco-charrette was used to create a common understanding of the intent and scope of the OSC project and the Eco-charrette across all stakeholders. Further, the intent was to establish a platform of collaboration, creativity and “out of the box” thinking in which to pursue the week. welCOming Rob Bennett, Executive Director of P+OSI, welcomed all of the participants and recognized the stakeholders that brought the OSC project to Phase I and this Eco-charrette. Rob provided an overview of the intent of the OSC, the role of P+OSI and the rich collaborative of sustainability- minded organizations that will play a signifcant role in further shaping and fulflling the project mission. PreSentatiOnS: Setting the Stage A series of presentations followed Rob’s welcoming address to provide context for the week’s work. • Clark Brockman of SERA Architects (design team) presented the genesis of the LBC. The LBC was developed by the Cascadia Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council to challenge the development industry to move beyond incremental performance improvement to zero and restorative impact development. • Dennis Wilde of Gerding Edlen Development Company presented on Eco-districts as a scaled approach to creating a sustainable built environment. Eco-districts are distinguished by the ability to achieve incrementally higher performance levels across a broader spectrum of focus areas through systems-based design, operation and programming. The City of Portland’s EcoDISTRICTS Initiative (led by P+OSI) seeks to invest in major redevelopment areas to test and accelerate scalable green development strategies to be applied throughout the city. • Judith Heerwagen, Ph.D and environmental and evolutionary psychologist, presented on the imperative for the built environment to not only meet signifcantly higher levels of performance, but to be shaped according to fundamental human needs. Dr. Heerwagen overviewed the biophilia hypothesis, which says that human’s have an deeply-rooted need to regularly affliate with the natural environment to sustain good health, well being and productivity. Understanding that people spend 90% of their time indoors, Dr. Heerwagen called for the designers to be purposeful about creating literal, facsimile and evocative nature- based sensory experiences for the occupants. Dr. Heerwagen’s presentation was very appropriate segue to the week’s work and the principles that evolved from the week. eCO-Charrette COllabOratiOn COmmitment A Collaboration Commitment was created and posted in the front of the room throughout the week. This Commitment provided a visible list of conditions that create the collaborative and creative work environment necessary to address the goals of the project and work for the week. All participants were asked to sign the Collaboration Commitment as a show of their pledge to collaborate with the group. 8 building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs monday 1 6 engage with an open mind all ideas have value 2 7 Check your ego at the door enjoy this moment 3 8 leave your preconceptions behind think outside of...everything you know 4 9 listen, then respond no filters, let it flow 5 acknowledge the contributions of others 10 begin with the end in mind deSign Slam The day’s core activity was a design “SLAM.” The purpose of such an exercise is to: take people out of their current context of role, space and time; provide challenging, seemingly unattainable requirements; allow little time for deliberation so that teams cut to the chase; and to encourage team building. Participants were put into eight design teams and were asked to design a project in response to a hypothetical owner team of clients (the “SLAM Instigators”) in the year 2050 and in one hour. The instigators presented vey lofty goals focused on social equity, fnancial performance, ecosystem services, children, salmon populations and the restoration of ecosystems as well as the following project requirements:  250,000 sf offce building with retail  Style counts  Exceed the Living Building Challenge  Be specifc  NO mechanical HVAC systems  Time counts  NO plumbing  Judge’s decisions are fnal  NO electric lighting  ONLY natural materials initiation Following the owner team introductions, the owners directed the project teams to do the following: 1. “Name your group and tell us what each of you does 2. Tell us how YOU are going to work with US 3. Develop ONE EYE-POPPING Page for fnal presentation 4. Now… open envelopes and unleash imagination and SLAM – create the future!!” The envelopes contained the Phase I RFP, the lyrics to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”, the project requirements, an aerial of the site and the Living Building Challenge Criteria. The teams then worked diligently for 30 minutes before being directed by the client team to stop, retrieve the lyrics sheet and collectively sing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”. Following this unanticipated reprieve, the teams dove back into their work for another thirty minutes to complete the one hour designated for development and design. PrOPOSed PrOjeCt deSign COnCePtS Each team was given fve minutes to present their 1-page RFP response to the owner team. The following is a summary of the team’s proposals: building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs 9 pROjECT REqUIREmENTS RULES OF ENGAGEmENT team 1: “Sym City” the Slam “instigators” (Owner team) The SYM CITY Project grows over time to “Simon Schuster” (develope Sr)imon grew up in adapt to its Madagascar and is the son of a biologist father and zoologist mother. He holds a Masters in Development bioclimate, Philosophy and Ethics and has 40 years of commercial programmatic needs and affordable housing development experience. The NY and technological T imes called him “…a ruthless collaborator, not letting anyone out of the process.” innovation. The goal: Develop a legacy project that embodies living philosophy building’s ‘leaves’ of buildings: buildings will be the key to restoring the balance of point upward when it humanity and all other species rains to collect “Sally Salmon” (representative of the f Ssahl)ly was born in an upper tributary of the Columbia River and rainwater and fold attended school in a class of approximately one million. down and orient to She has sea smarts, functions instinctively and her reel the sun when the sky clears. The building integrates education came from living in the ocean. Sally is the founder of the Federated Institute for Salmon and Halibut nature in the building for people and (FISH) and her most widely-recognized projects are the Columbia microorganisms to clean water and fx nitrogen in River Dam removals. the site soils. A zipline is proposed spanning the goal: Catalyze cohesive restoration of the Cascadia bioregion as a thriving Salmon Nation. project and OHSU for a fun and effective alternative “dr. edward moss” (ecological Capital i s t )Dr. mode of transportation. The project also proposes to Moss was raised in a northwest temperate rain forest by deliver its greywater to PSU, who might then treat it a nurse log named Betty and has two twin brothers. Dr. and sell it throughout the immediate district or city. Moss’ education came from the nitrogen-fxation process, which served as the inspiration for his team 2: “ugwug / Columbia Chum” o rganization the Physical Ecosystem Earnings Works or “PhEEW!”. PhEEW! founded the frst widely-accepted ecosystem services “When you’re up the valuation methodology that translates natures function into fnancial capital. creek, we help you goal: apply the PhEEW! valuation methodology to a building get down the river” project and see how building design might result in the creation of ecosystem services, thus increasing the triple bottom line return on In section, the investment. UGWUG project “wee 1” (representative of the childrenW) e e 1 was born fve months ago in Portland, Oregon and has appears like a layered spent the frst part of her life in the winter season, birthday cake and which means a lot of snow, rain, cold, dark and time the “candles” atop indoors. Her informal education stems from watching her 2-year old brother Henry romp around the house the building are and her dog Ruby wander looking for food scraps. Her favorite book vertical access wind is the Biophilia Hypothesis, which suggests that humans need to turbines. A bird’s regularly affliate with nature to be healthy, productive and happy. goal: Develop a project that will satisfy biophilic tendencies, despite eye view of the the startling reality that people spend most of their time indoors. project reveals only vegetation (native grasses) that clean the rainwater as it cascades down the “you’re not getting this land from the building’s terrace-like structure. All materials will PdC; you’re borrowing it from me–w.”e e 1 be manufactured onsite and the building will be “Cesar Chotchky” (Public interest attorn Ceeys)ar occupied only during daylight hours to reduce the was born in migrant camps in the California Central Valley and is the son of bi-cultural immigrant parents. need for electrical lighting. The layering approach After a temporary period of living in a housing project in facilitates natural ventilation and the building Chicago’s Southside, he located to Oregon where he rotates to optimize solar access. The project also earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology at Portland S tate University and then a law degree from the University of Oregon. includes a ground-level adult playground. Cesar has dedicated his life to elucidating the inextricable link between environmental health and social equity and frmly believes that sustainability does not live in an ivory tower, rather on the street and spread throughout the land. goal: The project reaches all people in a language they understand and with a message that motivates them. 10 building partnerships : advancing best practices : creating green jobs