Beyond Expectations: The Bullitt Foundation Creates the Greenest Office Building in the World

Ever since the introduction of green building rating systems, attaining the greenest structure has become a desired goal for many companies. One of the most successful green buildings created thus far is the Bullitt Center, located in Seattle, Washington. Designed by the Bullitt Foundation, the Bullitt Center earned the title of greenest office building in the world after achieving the Living Building Challenge certification, the highest green building standard currently available (Mirel 2014). As the greenest office building in the world, it has broken boundaries in sustainable building and has served as guidance for subsequent projects.

Denis Hayes, CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, stated that the Bullitt Center’s design team aimed to receive the Living Building Challenge certification since the very beginning of the design process (ASHRAE 2011). This certification is awarded to buildings that are fully self-reliant in terms of energy and water for more than a year. The Bullitt Center meets these requirements by harvesting all the water it needs on site, ensuring that the total amount of energy it uses is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy it creates on site, refraining from using toxic chemicals, and preventing combustion within its systems (Fish 2012).

In order to obtain a self-reliant building, the Bullitt Foundation incorporated different green technologies and methods in the Bullitt Center’s design. Figure 1 illustrates the Bullitt Center’s various sustainable features. The Bullitt Center is able to achieve a net-zero energy system by using 575 rooftop solar panels. The panels are capable of producing 240,000 kilowatt hours per year. To achieve a net-zero water building, the Bullitt Center uses a network of filters and a cistern. It collects rainwater through its roof and stores it in a 56,000 galloon cistern located underground. As water becomes needed, the rainwater is filtered through ceramic filters, passed through UV light and charcoal, and added to a miniscule amount of chlorine. The now drinkable water is stored in a 500-gallon tank where it can be easily accessed. In addition, the Bullitt Center is able to reduce water pollution in the surrounding ecosystem through the use of native plant restoration, bio-swales, and pervious pavement. This system is able to delay rainwater runoff, therefore, reducing the amount of pollutants that enter nearby bodies of water. In terms of innovative design, the Bullitt Center contains the first composting toilet system in the world (Mirel 2014).

Figure 1: Sustainable Features of the Bullitt Center, Source: National Institute of Building Sciences. 2014. “The Bullitt Center.” WBDG. https://www.wbdg.org/references/cs_bullittcenter.php.

Although green building seems costly during the construction process, it can prove to be economically beneficial in the long run. Incorporating energy-saving technologies will significantly cut down energy costs. This is especially advantageous since the price of energy is continuously increasing (Eichholtz, Kok, and Quigley 2010). In addition, the usage of plant systems to process wastewater can cut energy and infrastructure expenses. Certain plants are capable of retaining and filtering water and are thus ideal for green building (Kibert and Grosskopf 2007).

As the greenest office building in the world, the Bullitt Center has contributed to green building by serving as an inspiration for future green construction projects. By taking note of its innovative ideas and methods, other companies can strive to achieve a fully self-reliant building. The creators of the Bullitt Center hope that their accomplishments motivate others to develop an even greener building in the near future (Mirel 2014).

References

“Bullitt Foundation plans ‘Greenest Building’ of all.” 2011. ASHRAE Journal, 53(10): 8. http://go.galegroup.com/.

Eichholtz, Piet, Nils Kok, and John M. Quigley. 2010. “Doing Well by Doing Good? Green Office Buildings.” The American Economic Review,100(5): 2492-2509. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41038771.

Fish, David R. 2012. “(by) Metrics (by) Design: Building for Endurance.” David Ronald Fish, 65. https://dlib.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/22681.

Kibert, Charles J., and Kevin Grosskopf. 2007. “ENVISIONING NEXT-GENERATION GREEN BUILDINGS.” Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law, 23(1): 145-160. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42842944.

Mirel, Diana. 2014. The greenest of the green: the bullitt center in seattle prides itself on being the world’s greenest office building. Journal of Property Management, 79(a), 30+. http://go.galegroup.com/.

National Institute of Building Sciences. 2014. “The Bullitt Center.” WBDG. https://www.wbdg.org/references/cs_bullittcenter.php.