by: Trevor Sanders
The Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington is a completely sustainable, 6 story, office building that was built back in 2013. Thinking about a sustainable office building might not grab the attention of every environmentally friendly thinker, but the example that has been set by the Bullitt Center is one that will have an impact on architects, developers, and engineers for decades to come. With American Sustainability always looking for positive environmental change, taking a look at how the Bullitt Center developed and succeeded in creating a sustainable building is important!
The Bullitt Center was completed in 2013 and took just over two years to build and complete. The idea behind the Bullitt Center was to create an office building that was a net zero building. Net Zero building is the idea that the structure itself will create as much, if not more, energy that it is using. This means that the Bullitt Center is not taking anything from the environment that it is not returning within the calendar year. To complete this goal, architects, engineers, and designers all had to be on the same page.
The Bullitt Center has a roof that is completely covered with solar panels, 575 in total. The building uses the energy that is created from the solar panels to operate on a daily basis. The office building also uses 100% reclaimed water to supply all of the buildings water needs. There is a system in place where the building reclaims rainwater throughout the year and filters the water until it is considered potable, then uses the reclaimed water for many different responsibilities. The engineers of the Bullitt Center developed a system where the water is used to help heat and cool the building during the changing seasons in Seattle. The Bullitt Center also uses an innovative air heating and cooling system where the air that is inside the building is used to heat and cool air that is outside the building when the outside air is brought in.
The amount of thought and effort put into creating a completely sustainable office building is quite staggering! Since 2013, the Bullitt Center has actually been a Net Positive building, and is guaranteed to stay that way while the building is still in existence. The building is considered to have a life frame of 250 years! This means that the building will still be going strong in year 2263.
The example that is set by the Bullitt Center is one that should be followed by other sustainability architects and designers. By setting this example, hopefully we can be looking towards a future with many more developments that are similar to the Bullitt Center.
If you would like to learn more about the Bullitt Center and how it is doing today, please follow the link provided here.
