Project profile: The Edith Green – Wendell Wyatt Federal Building

The Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt (EGWW) Federal Building is an 18-story, 512,474 sf office tower in downtown Portland, Oregon. Originally built in 1974, the building received funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to undergo a major renovation to replace outdated equipment and systems. This funding stipulated the project must meet the stringent energy and water conservation requirements of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA).
Since the building’s completed renovation in 2013, post-occupancy studies have helped to demonstrate compliance with EISA’s efficiency objectives, refine and further improve the building’s actual performance, and provide feedback to the General Services Administration (GSA) and design team for future work.

Already, EGWW has exceeded its projected energy and water saving goals. Gas and electrical utility bills demonstrate a 45% energy savings in the first two years of use, compared to a building built to code. A water model predicted the building would harvest approximately 540,000 gallons of water annually – a 60% reduction in water use compared to a typical building. In the first two years of use, the actual rainwater collected annually was 626,544 gallons, or a 65% reduction in water use.

Building program type(s): Office – 100,001 or greater

The Edith Green – Wendell Wyatt Federal Building; Portland, Oregon; SERA Architects with Cutler Anderson Architects

(2016 AIA COTE Top Ten Plus award recipient)