Architecture Firm:
Perkins+Will
Completion Date:
2009 (anticipated)
Project Format (not yet built / built):
Not yet built
Project Size (sf / site acreage):
50,000 sf / site acreage 94,000 sf
Project Location:
Tacoma, Washington
Budget ($/sq Ft, optional):
$23 million
Interior Designer:
Perkins+will
General Contractor:
Lease Crutcher Lewis
Landscape Designer:
Swift & Company
Lighting Consultant:
Flack + Kurtz
Structural Engineer:
AHBL, Inc.
Mechanical Engineer:
Flack + Kurtz
Electrical Engineer:
Flack + Kurtz
Commissioning Agent:
Rushing
Air Quality Consultant:
N/A
Civil Engineer:
AHBL, Inc.
Other:
Lorig, Developer; Davis Langdon, Cost Estimator
Owner:
TES
Sustainable Sites:
The vegetated roof, raingardens, and layered native plantings provide a porous site that visually displays its sustainable strategies. Situated along the Thea Foss Waterway, the site provides a public esplanade and overlook with views across the water to downtown Tacoma. Viewed from the downtown buildings, the roof of this project is treated as a fifth façade with the vegetated roof, photovoltaics, and atrium skylights showing the sustainable strategies to the urban core of the City.
Toward Zero Energy:
The Center for Urban Waters utilizes several strategies to reduce its energy needs. Exterior sunshades and high performance glazing reduce unwanted heat gain. Natural ventilation cooling and a ground source heat pump that charges radiant floor slabs reduce the energy required for heating and cooling. The lighting controls, narrow floor plate and atria provide a well daylit space that requires minimal energy for lighting.
The project also implements strategies for on-site energy generation. Photovoltaics are integrated into the skylight above the main atrium so the energy generation can easily be seen from a prominent location in the building. In addition to providing an educational opportunity, the photovoltaics integrated into the skylight providing shading for the open work stations around the atrium. Photovoltaic panels are also mounted to the rooftop to provide additional energy generation and can be seen from the public esplanade adjacent to the building and downtown Tacoma.
Local and Sustainable Materials:
Reclaimed wood, potentially from docks demolished near the site, will be re-used for site benches and the ceiling that connecting the exterior entry plaza with the interior lobby. Due to the project’s proximity to the Thea Foss Waterway, a potentially corrosive salt water environment, stainless steel was selected as a primary building material because of its durability. It has a projected 100 year life span, and requires little to no maintenance. All materials used on the project are evaluated for their recycled content and regional extraction and manufacturing.
Sustainable Water:
Stormwater runoff is reduced by creating an almost entirely porous site. The raingardens with native wetland plantings allow the water to slowly filter into the soil. An underground vault will store reject reverse osmosis water from the Lab’s purewater system. This water will be used to meet 50 percent of the toilet flushing needs and also be used for 100 percent of the site irrigation after the establishment period. Low-flow plumbing fixtures and water efficient landscaping are implemented to allow the excess water from the labs to meet these reduced building and landscape water needs.
IEQ and Comfort:
Of all the regularly occupied spaces over 90 percent will have exterior views and over 75 percent will be daylit. All spaces along the curtainwall exterior will have automatic daylight dimming controls. All other spaces will have occupancy sensors or be on the building control system.
All office spaces will be naturally ventilated by ways of operable windows in the exterior curtainwall and exhausted through two atria. Indicator lights will prompt occupants to open or close their windows in extreme temperature conditions. A small office AHU will supplement air supply during the extreme times. A radiant floor will be used for the building’s heating and cooling needs. Each copy or plot room will be sealed and mechanically supplied and exhausted to reduce the likelihood of machine exhaust or odors getting out into office spaces.
Collective Wisdom and Feedback:
The natural ventilation and daylighting design are based on the proven success of previously built work and were established early on in the design process, leading to a long, thin building with atria. A website will be created to provide feedback on the sustainable strategies implemented by the project. In addition, a digital display is proposed near the entry in the central atrium that monitors the energy generated by the photovoltaics, the water collected and re-used, and additional statistics that convey the water quality research being conducted in the facility.
Regional/Community Design:
A public, waterfront esplanade is included in the project scope and is integrated into the site and building design. The esplanade is a community amenity that provides not only a walking path, but also public benches and a boardwalk overlooking the Thea Foss Waterway and downtown Tacoma. One of the project goals is to inspire future development in the area and build an environmentally sustainable community. This is the first project on the east side of the waterway to include an esplanade and future projects will look to the Center for Urban Waters as precedence not only for continuing the esplanade, but also for continuing Tacoma’s commitment to ecological design.
