Seattle releases green remodeling guides

A page from Seattle's Tenant Improvement guide on Adaptable Design.

Looking for ways to better position themselves at the turn of the recession, commercial building owners and managers could be looking for ways to make their buildings more attractive to sustainable businesses.

The city of Seattle is stepping in to help with its new "Quick Guide to Tenant Improvement" series, says Rebecca Baker, green building coordinator at the city's Department of Planning and Development.

The series of standalone guides covers sustainable strategies for corporate tenant improvements. Each of the 10 guides cover one topic, including green leases, adaptable design, office equipment and healthy building materials. They are written with an eye toward helping those with less green building experience tackle retrofit projects—though they also provide resources and case studies thart a more "savvy user" will find useful, Baker says.

A key element in each of the guides is an accounting of the potential Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Commercial Interiors credits different strategies have the potential to yield.

The content of the guides, which were created by New York City–based IA Interior Architects over about 18 months, was driven through roundtable discussions with industry stakeholders. The discussions helped identify remodeling strategies with the most environmental impact, the biggest bottom-line benefit and that are relatively easy to implement.

The overarching mission of the guides is to make it easy for a project manager to convince superiors to make "green" updates and improvements to existing space, Baker says.

The city may license the guides to other cities and planning departments in the future.