GENERAL INFORMATION

Building Name: The Bullitt Center

Building Location: Seattle, Washington, United States
Construction Type: New Construction (including public and
academic buildings)
Size: 52,000sf
Market Sector: Private
Building Type: Office
Total Building Cost: $30 million
Project Completion Date / Date Building Occupied: April 2013
DESCRIPTION

 "The six-story, 52,000 SF Bullitt

Center in Seattle, Washington,
targeting Living Building
certification—is one of the most
energy efficient commercial
buildings in the world—a high-
performance prototype setting
innovative standards for sustainable
design and construction,
demonstrating that it is possible to
create a commercially-viable
building with essentially no
environmental footprint."
 Bullitt center has achieved extraordinary levels of energy efficiency through integrated
architectural and engineering design, cutting edge technology and components, non-toxic
building materials, and conscious choices by tenants.
 The Bullitt Center also collects rainwater for potable and non-potable use.
 These elements reduce the six-story buildings annual energy requirement enough that it
operates on energy provided by a roof top solar array and manages its own water and waste
needs onsite, on an extremely tight urban block in rainy, overcast Seattle.
STRUCTURE

 Heavy timber construction is the most visible

structural elements.
  It was selected for its low embodied carbon; its
history in Northwest construction, as well as for
its beauty. 
  The embodied energy of a timber frame is
dramatically less than that of either concrete or
steel, so wherever possible, wood was used
resulting in a hybrid structure—concrete coming
out of the earth, steel to resist lateral forces and
timber for gravity loading conditions. 
 Due to the fact that most toxins in buildings
today can be found in the finishes, the design
purposefully kept materials as unfinished and
close to their natural state as possible.
 Materials were sourced locally and construction
processes minimized waste.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENVELOPE

 The well-insulated walls have been

designed to eliminate thermal
bridging and dramatically reduce air
infiltration.
 Building massing and orientation, as
well as glazing selection, control
heat gain. 
 The building's windows, which open
and close automatically in response
to conditions outside, were selected
for optimal control of heat loss and
solar gain, while maintaining superb
visibility for daylighting.
CLOSED-LOOP GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM AND
VENTILATION
 The Center's very modest heating and cooling
loads are met by ground source heat pumps and
on-site geothermal wells. Water loops provide
comfortable radiant heating and cooling to the
office spaces. Ventilation is provided through a
dedicated 100% outside air unit with an air-to-
air heat exchanger, so that incoming fresh air is
preconditioned by outgoing air.
RADIANT FLOOR HEATING AND COOLING WITH
PASSIVE COOLING AND NATURAL VENTILATION
 Operable shading systems are designed for glare
control to further mitigate solar heat gain.
Operable windows provide free cooling and
ventilation when ambient conditions are right.

Open office spaces rely on natural daylighting as the

primary source of illumination.
DAYLIGHT DIMMING AND EFFICIENT
LIGHTING DESIGN
 Daylighting drove the architectural design
and is the primary source of illumination in
the building. Electric lighting loads in office
spaces have been limited to 0.4 Watts per
square foot, less than half the 0.9 W/ ft²
currently allowed under the Seattle code.
Automatic controls will dim or turn off the
LED lights when daylight provides adequate
illumination. However, daylighting is the
primary lighting source so during most of
the year those lights are off.
AGGRESSIVE REDUCTION OF PLUG LOADS
 Plug loads for office equipment, such as
computers, monitors, servers, printers, and
copiers will be limited to a maximum of
0.8W/ft² (and this will be significantly
reduced by plug load occupancy sensors).
NET-ZERO WATER APPROACH
 Approximately 69% (128,800 gallons) of
the annual rainwater runoff is
collected, stored in a 56,000 gallon
cistern, treated, and used for potable
and non-potable (approx. 11,400
gallons per year) uses; the remaining
31% will be discharged as storm water,
ensuring the integrity of downstream Cistern for treating rainwater runoff.
hydrology.
 Through a combination of infiltration,
evaporation on the membrane roofing
evapotranspiration on the green roofs,
and piped discharge, the building
closely mimics the historic hydrology of
the site.

Composting units.
Safe and Secure
  Design and construct buildings that resist
natural and manmade hazards.
 All materials and systems were vetted against a
'red list' of prohibited toxins.
 As most toxins in buildings are found in finishes,
the design purposefully kept materials as
unfinished and close to their natural state as
possible (i.e. galvanized steel siding was left
unpainted, timber received only a water-based
sealer to protect it during construction and
aluminum was anodized and unpainted.
 Although heavy timber framing is a prominent
feature of the building, steel provides required
structure to resist seismic forces prevalent in
the earthquake prone Pacific Northwest.
Bioswales and pervious pavement process and
retain building storm water runoff on site to
reduce pollutants entering the Puget Sound
watershed, which benefits the region beyond
the confines of its own footprint.
Productive/Healthy
 Design for building occupant physical and
psychological well-being.
 Consideration of the interior environment is
essential to the success of the Bullitt Center.
As no 'red list' materials with prohibited toxins
were used, the building offers a clean, safe
environment for occupants and visitors.
 Exceptional daylighting and operable windows
providing fresh air for natural ventilation also
contribute to a healthy and uplifting work
environment.
 Daylighting for general area lighting also
reduces undesired internal heat production.
 An exit stair reimagined as the irresistible
stair, a transparent glass stairwell located on
an outside wall of the building offering views
of the city skyline, Puget Sound, and Olympic
Mountains, encourages occupants to walk
between floors for health benefits, provides
opportunities to interact with others, and to
offset the energy demands of taking an
elevator..
Accessible
 Ensure equal use of the building for
all and plan for flexibility. All
spaces in the building and
throughout the site are readily
accessible. Open floor plates can
be easily configured to suit
changing tenants needs.

Aesthetic
Building massing was not driven by
metaphor or aesthetics, but rather by
performance metrics. In doing more
with less, the design team identified
imaginative ways to express the
building's core functions and to
creatively celebrate regional context
and climate conditions through
materials and features.
Cost-Effective:
  Selection of building elements on the
basis of life-cycle costs. One of the
most sustainable buildings is a
building that lasts. 
 The heavy timber frame on the warm
side of the thermal envelope
eliminates the chance of moisture
and rot. 
 Windows and walls have an
anticipated service life of 50 to 75
years after which the curtain wall
and wall panels, which are simply
bolted to the building, can be
replaced without disrupting the
structure. 
  The exposed timber frame allows for
easy visual inspection and
replacement of the beams and
columns. 
Functional:
  Define the size and proximity of
the different spaces needed for
activities and equipment and
anticipate changing information
technology (IT) and other building
systems equipment.