Center for Energy and Urban Ecology | Bullitt Center

Seattle’s Bullitt Foundation is leading a visionary effort to develop the Bullitt Center, the nation’s first urban mid-rise commercial building aimed at achieving Living Building™ certification with the goal of net-zero energy use, a new benchmark for urban environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. The development of this building will set a new standard for performance-based design and increase awareness of new approaches to sustainable design and construction.

The Foundation and its partners will use the project to promote sustainability and energy efficiency technologies and practices in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest, the nation and beyond. The first urban building of its kind, the Bullitt Center will be an exemplary community resource for urban sustainability and energy efficiency education. The building will be a living laboratory for research and education on urban ecology and high performance building design. Three of the partners planning to locate their operations in the Bullitt Center, the Bullitt Foundation, the Cascadia Green Building Council, and the UW College of Built Environments Integrated Design Lab are joining forces to develop a new regional nexus for education, events and outreach.

The intersection of these three organizations dedicated to the highest levels of urban sustainability and co-located in one of the highest performing buildings in the world presents the opportunity for a living demonstration of the principles and practices for energy efficiency and sustainability in the built environment. These three organizations propose to develop and operate the Center for Energy and Urban Ecology.

The Center will be located at the public entrance adjacent to McGilvra Place, a park that will be renewed to better serve the neighborhood and demonstrate water and landscape sustainability. Nearly 3,000 square feet on the ground floor will house interactive displays, a resource library, a classroom and an exhibition space. The UW’s Integrated Design Lab will operate a building science laboratory complimenting the functions of the exhibition area with a working heliodon and an artificial sky. Permanent exhibits will include interpretation of the building’s systems and real-time display of the it’s operations and performance. The Center will serve as the departure point for building tours.

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