Seattle Living Building breaks ground

A rendering of the new science building.

The Bertschi School broke ground in June on Washington's first building to attempt the Living Building Challenge.

The building is planned to be the school's science building. It is designed by Restorative Design Collective, a multi-disciplinary team comprised of designers, engineers and consultants from a host of firms in the area. The building is slated for completion in November 2010 and is one of 13 projects in the state registered with the Living Building Challenge. The team is working toward meeting Living Building Challenge 2.0, released last year.

The collective did all of the work pro bono because its founders say they felt constructing a Living Building would be the best way to raise awareness about the Living Building Challenge, says Chris Hellstern of KMD Architects and co-founder of the Restorative Design Collective. The group decided to work with The Bertschi School, an independent elementary school on Seattle's Capitol Hill, because it already had the right environmental ethic and curriculum, Hellstern says. One of the school's current buildings is the first school building in the state to be certified Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Plans include a photovoltaic solar system that is expected to feed excess electricity into the grid. At night, the building will draw from the grid. All of the water on the site, including greywater, will be treated on a living wall installation, on green roofs and in rain gardens. The collective plans to reuse it all onsite as well. The building's potable water come will from the municipal system because of health codes. Efforts are underway to change that requirement or get a waiver, Hellstern says.

Construction is expected to cost about $935,000, which represents about a 30 percent premium over a conventional building, according to the school.