Green Building in the Northwest: Learn the Advantages

Find out why some of the Northwest’s largest builders have decided to implement green building construction practices in their homes. Get informed about local green building programs Earth Advantage, ENERGY STAR and the LEED for Homes pilot project. Learn about the benefits and future of green building in the residential market from a local Oregon expert.

Living Industry: The Eugene Water & Electric Board offers leadership in sustainable industrial design and a stewardship of wetland prairie.

The Eugene Water & Electric Board has decided to move its industrial operations from the Willamette Riverfront to a former lumber mill site in West Eugene. The project is a case study of responsible Willamette Valley industry. It will heal a brownfield site, restore wetland prairie, and make a sustainable work place. The project consists of 200,000 square feet of industrial buildings on 46 acres. A team of PIVOT Architecture and BNIM has been helping EWEB explore the concept of a Living Building. The presentation will describe a values based dialogue with the client, specific measures, value engineering, and performance modeling through the schematic design phase.

Sustainable Infrastructure: Building the Future

The presentation will showcase recent sustainable design projects within the context of our four key business lines: water, energy, land development, and transportation. These projects, which develop sustainable infrastructure for clients interested in building both community and ecology as a composite whole, are inspired by the company core purpose, which is "To improve the quality of life while demonstrating stewardship of the built and natural environments."

"Zero-Energy Commercial Buildings - Getting Closer”

One of SOLARC’s latest commercial design project is Klamath County Road Department's new facility in Klamath Falls. Based on a drastic reduction in energy demand (shell, interior and exterior lighting, lighting controls), innovative mechanical design to meet the remaining load (ground-source heat pumps, radiant heating, etc.), and the extensive use of site renewable energies (Photo-voltaics and Solar Hot Water), this facility will consume only about 10% of the energy a comparable code-compliant project would require!

“What REALLY happens when we get to Sustainability?”

Sustainability affecting architecture involves far more than just adding up points on a checklist of environmental products. It involves fundamental shifts in the institutions we design for, governance of our communities, the scope of our sciences and economics, and how we live our lives. All that means profound transformation in the how we design and relate to the world around us.