Rainwater Harvesting for Potable Use at the Bertschi School

The Bertschi School Living Science wing is an award-winning building completed in 2011, which includes a small classroom, science lab and ethnobotanical garden. It was the first building certified under the Living Building Challenge V2.0, considered to be the most stringent green building certification in the world. The LBC’s Net-Zero Water imperative requires on-site supply, treatment and reuse of all the building’s water needs. They met this in part by installing an innovative rainwater harvesting system that uses filtration and sanitation to treat water for potable use by the school’s staff and students.

CO2 Heat Pump Water Heater in Madrona Passive House

Seattle’s residential building code requires domestic hot water heating system be tested and listed by a testing agency approved by the State of Washington. in the 1990s, Japanese engineers developed heat pump domestic hot water heaters using CO2, an abundant, natural refrigerant. These systems are known as “Eco-Cute” which means environmentally-friendly hot water because using CO2 avoids conventional synthetic refrigerants which have high global warming potential (GWP). Although Sanden’s Eco-Cute is not yet tested by an approved agency, the City of Seattle’s Innovative Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC) recommends Hammer & Hand be permitted to install the CO2 system as an alternate material because of its superior performance and environmental attributes if it meets four conditions.

Greywater Treatment & Infiltration at the Bullitt Center

The Bullitt Center, arguably the greenest office building in the world, is certified by the International Living Future Institute having met the Living Building Challenge. The building is designed to capture and treat rainwater for all uses, and handle all wastewater on-site, including an innovative greywater treatment using a green roof constructed wetland and infiltration facility in the public right-of-way. Approval required multiple code waivers but the project was allowed extraordinary flexibility under the Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Ordinance.