Skanska USA’s Agents of Change

The spectrum of green building is wide, with innovations in design and construction allowing new structures to meet ever stricter standards for energy use, water consumption and carbon footprint. But it takes a significant amount of extra effort to build green designs without allowing costs to skyrocket. This is the challenge Skanska USA Commercial Development faces with a new building in the Fremont neighborhood that will house Brooks Sports, a leading manufacturer of running shoes and apparel. Brooks currently makes its home in Bothell.

Brooks will occupy 80,000 square feet of Stone34 when it opens in early 2014 at the corner of Stone Way and 34th Street, just off the Burke-Gilman Trail. Five stories covering 120,000 square feet, the project represents a huge step for Skanska USA and the city of Seattle. It is part of Seattles Living Building Pilot Project, which allows developers meeting extraordinarily high standards for sustainability to apply for variances in building codes.

Stone34 is the second project to break ground under the pilot program and the first to create spaces at market rates. What it means to be market rate, says Lisa Picard, regional manager and executive vice president of Skanskas Seattle team, is to be competitive with buildings that are doing half of what were doing. How do you get there? Ill tell you, its a lot of brain damage.

In concrete terms: Most people in the marketplace will say reasonable construction pricing is between $150 and $180 per square foot, Picard says. That number pales compared to the $600 per square foot of the Cascadia Center in Seattles Capitol Hill neighborhood, the first project under the citys pilot program. This highly anticipated project of the Bullitt Foundation could be the greenest commercial building in the world.

Skanska, a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, aims to meet standards based on the Living Building Challenge, a certification developed by the International Living Building Institute (ILBI). Projects must be self-sufficient and adhere to rigorous standards in seven categories: site, energy, water, health, materials, equity and beauty. The certification defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment today, according to ILBI.

Living Buildings must have net zero consumption of energy and watera tall order since some of the techniques that reduce energy consumption and conserve water might violate existing land use codes. Recognizing that Seattles code wouldnt allow developers to meet all Living Building requirements, the City Council took a forward-looking approach in approving the Living Building Pilot Program in 2009. It gives the Department of Planning and Development leeway to approve variances in building codes for developers. To be accepted, projects must meet all Living Building requirements or an amended set of requirements, which involves capturing 50 percent of storm water and reducing water and energy use by 75 percent compared to other buildings in the area, as well as adhering to 60 percent of ILBI stipulations.

The city of Seattle realized that for developers to really develop in this way, meeting 100 percent of the criteria is challenging and likely not affordable, Picard notes. I commend the policymakers for really thinking about how they can stimulate developers to create deeply green projects.

As part of the pilot program, Stone34 can be taller than zoning requirements would normally stipulate. In order to compensate for a narrower profile, which allows daylight to permeate a building more fully, many green builders add height. Daylighting helps reduce the need for artificial lighting, and its one of a host of strategies Skanska will employ to lower energy consumption at Stone34.

Tom Marseille, managing director of WSP Flack+Kurtz, a national engineering and consulting firm with a large Seattle presence, says establishing a good thermal envelope is the best way to approach energy efficiency in a building. A well-insulated building can hold heat in winter and cool air in summer, requiring less investment to keep the interior comfortable for occupants.

Stone34 will have a hydronic heating and cooling system that uses water instead of air as the heat-transfer medium and is at least four times more energy efficient than more traditional approaches, Marseille says. The water circulates in a closed piping system that runs through beams mounted on the ceiling of each room. The addition of a phase change thermal storage tank reduces the amount of energy required to heat and cool the water. Phase change material around the tank freezes at 58 degrees. At night, when cooling demand is low, the system extracts heat from the material, bringing it below freezing temperature and adding heat to the water circulating through the building. Thawing the material during the day cools the water and the building.

To cut back on water requirements, the building will recycle gray water from sinks and showers for uses that dont require potable water, such as irrigation and flushing toilets. Rainwater will be stored in a tank for re-use. Although the city currently prohibits buildings from treating their own water, Stone34 is equipped to do so if regulations change. The technology does exist, Picard says. At some point, were hoping we can flip that switch and be net zero water.

The buildings location, just blocks from Lake Union, means there are other water issues to address. Since aquifers flow downhill, Marseille points out, water from the ground tends to seep into parking garages of buildings near the water table, sometimes at the rate of 30 or 40 gallons per minute. Instead of pumping that flow into the storm water treatment system, as many buildings do, Stone34 will use it as another gray water source.

The roof is another interesting piece. Weve got a lot of competing interests solar panels, gardens, skylights and space for people to spend time outsideand we actually are using it for a lot of those things, Marseille says.

The outdoor space touches on another aspect of the Living Building Challenge, one that Picard feels is central to Skanskas mission. Theres a lot [in the Living Building requirements] that has to do with creating a space that is healthy for human occupants, she says. [But] theres this really neat other fabric that has to be considered. The Living Building guidelines demand a structure that engages the community, is aesthetically pleasing and provides inhabitants with fresh air and natural light.

Skanska just started doing its own development in the United States in the last four years, says Picard, and we just opened the Seattle development office a little over a year ago. For us, its the first representation for the tenant market of the intentions we will bring as a developer to the community. … We hope to actually change the market by incorporating these elements.

The pilot program, as well as Skanskas own structure (it is self-financed and operates as its own contractor) and innovative design (Seattle-based LMN is the architect), contribute to the feasibility of the project, but theres another piece crucial to success: the occupants. You hear people talk about buildings are doing this [and] buildings are doing that, Picard says of green development. But if the tenant isnt on board with the sustainability initiative, its a problem. Its like continuing to eat Twinkies and looking to our doctors to give us diabetes medication so we can keep engaging in these harmful behaviors.

In Brooks Sports, Picard says Skanska was incredibly fortunate to find a tenant that has deep values about changing the world. They are willing to look at changing how they conduct business, holding themselves to budgets for energy, budgets for water.

Skanska has been working with Brooks in Bothell, installing energy meters to measure current usage and calculating what the firm must do to adapt to a restricted budget. Its the small things that make a difference, Marseille points out, such as turning computers off at night. When Brooks moves into its new headquarters, advanced metering will give continuous feedback so the company can continue to track consumption.

Theyre so on board with it, Marseille adds. To have people that are interested is key to the success of a project like this.

Its a cultural opportunity for us, affirms Brooks CEO Jim Weber. [Energy conservation] is not just a strategy, its a brand value. I think we found the absolute perfect spot.

Rendering of the Stone 34 Building