WATERSHED
Seattle, Washington, United States of America | Pursuing Materials Petal Certification
Completed in 2020, Watershed’s ambitious goals and auspicious location (between Fremont’s iconic troll statue and Lake Union) have caught the attention of many local stormwater enthusiasts. As the third building to pursue Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Program, the seven-story, 61,000sf office building (with approximately 5,000sf of retail at grade) is committed to achieving Materials Petal certification via the Living Building Challenge. In order to qualify for the pilot program, the city also requires 75% reduction in potable water use and 25% reduction in energy use below baseline. Beyond these lofty goals, the project is voluntarily opting to treat 400,000 gallons of heavily polluted runoff from the adjacent Aurora Bridge before it flows into Lake Union.
Based on Seattle 2030 District’s baseline water use data, Watershed is designed to achieve a 77% reduction in municipal potable water usage via efficiency strategies and use of harvested rainwater. The first step to meeting city water requirements is to reduce internal water demand as much as possible. The project team has selected the highest efficiency fixtures, including pint-flush urinals and low-flow showerheads and faucets.
The project will collect rainwater from its rooftop and store it in a 20,000-gallon cistern for toilet flushing and irrigation. Annually, the project will harvest 200,000 gallons of rainwater (57% of stormwater on site). The rainwater capture is made visible to the public via activated rain leaders on the north façade and a water feature.
As part of Watershed’s site improvements and stormwater control measures, the project team has installed a bioswale and bioretention planters in the right of way along Troll Avenue. Rainwater from the building’s roofs, as well as stormwater from the alley and the Aurora Bridge, is captured and treated via the rain garden and bioswales before being released to a dedicated storm sewer, which releases into Lake Union. As a result of these strategies, the project hopes to “create a tangible narrative of the local water cycle and its importance to the environment and the community” while ultimately removing heavy metals and other toxins from an estimated 400,000 gallons of stormwater before it flows into the salmon habitat. That’s the equivalent of more than 1,000 households’ daily usage!
THE BLOCK PROJECT
Seattle, Washington, United States of America | Pursuing Living Certification
The BLOCK Project creates panelized 125sf affordable homes for those experiencing homelessness, which are then placed in the backyards of willing single-family homeowners in Seattle. The project team is pursuing Living Certification under the Living Building Challenge for each new home, starting in 2020.
Because BLOCK Project homes are so tiny and use less than 22 gallons of water per day due to incorporation of low-flow fixtures, capturing and treating rainwater on site is not always the most sustainable or cost-effective option. Instead, the project team jumped at the opportunity to Handprint their water use. In their view, the strategy aligns especially well with their commitment to foster neighborhood-level support for and investment in the BLOCK Project resident.
In order to meet their Handprinting goals, the team worked with Seattle Public Utilities to donate low-flow showerheads and aerators to the host family and neighbors in order to offset their potable water use.
