Project profile: The Bullitt Center

The Bullitt Center is a high performance urban office building demonstrating a commercially-viable structure with essentially no environmental footprint is possible; it is the largest certified Living Building. Performance metrics drove building design with every material and system in the self-sustaining six-story, 52,000-square-foot office building evaluated toward the goal of net zero energy, water and waste—resulting in an unprecedented Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 10kbtu/sf/yr. Sustainable design moves responding to regional context include operable floor-to-ceiling windows for daylight and fresh air, heavy-timber framing, a transparent ‘irresistible stair’ with dramatic views, and overhanging roof characteristic of Northwest design vernacular. A new paradigm for design, the building serves as a living laboratory for high-performance architecture and sustainability education seeking to influence the way society views the relationship of a building to its environment.
(2015 AIA/COTE Top Ten award recipient)