Case Studies

Spotlight on Green City of Seattle Facilities
The case studies on City of Seattle capital improvement projects offered below highlight a variety of green building approaches, design strategies, materials, and lessons learned that can help with your next project.

		Airport Way Center, Building C In the Airport Way Center, Building C, the City of Seattle makes adaptive reuse of a 125,000-square-foot high-bay warehouse for specialized police functions.
		Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center The City of Seattle’s first project to pursue a LEED™ Gold certification is a demonstration project to educate visitors about sustainable building and the ecology of the Piper’s Creek watershed.
		Cedar River Watershed Education Center The primary water source for the greater Seattle area, this watershed was designated an ecological reserve to address declining fish and wildlife and assure water supply. The sustainably built center will educate visitors on the human and natural infrastructure for water.
		Cedar Water Treatment Facility Operations Building The unique design-build-operate procurement contract used for the delivery of the overall Cedar Water Treatment Facility called for a different approach to LEED certification, one that was flexible and incentive-based. It allowed CH2M HILL, the designer, builder and operator, to find its own cost-cutting opportunities while meeting high standards for sustainability.
		Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center Expected to host over 900,000 visitors each year, this replacement for the Flag Pavilion is the first City building completed before Seattle adopted a sustainable building policy to apply for LEED™ Silver certification. Link to Cascadia GBC Case Study.
		North Cascades Environmental Learning Center This a field-based educational and cultural center, on Diablo Lake in the North Cascades National Park, uses no water for irrigation and has zero stormwater runoff.
		Northgate Civic Center The Northgate Library, Community Center and Park anchors the redevelopment of Northgate, a suburban-style commercial area in Seattle. During construction of the center, 94% of the waste was diverted from landfills through recycling.
		Operations Control Center Seattle Public Utilities’ (SPU) Operations Control Center (OCC) is an adaptive reuse project that supports the utility’s mission and strategic priorities for the next century.
		Park 90-5 Formerly a coffee-roasting plant and a meat-packing facility, Park 90-5's buildings A and C were sustainably revitalized by the City and now house several specialized Seattle Police Department functions.
		Seattle Central Library Designed by renowned architect Rem Koolhaas, and future-proofed by City Librarian Deborah Jacobs, the library achieved LEED™ Silver certification, has been embraced by Seattleites and tourists, and is expected to serve a very long time.
		Seattle City Hall Designed to last 100 years, with the ability to adapt to changing services and technology, the new City Hall expresses Seattleites' values--it is healthy, open and transparent; achieves great resource savings; and features a living roof.
		Seattle Fire Station 10 The project known as Fire Station 10 is actually three facilities in one: a fire station, a fire alarm center and an emergency operations center. It also serves as the city's primary hazardous materials response unit.
		Seattle Justice Center Also designed for a 100-year life span, the new Justice Center features interior spaces illuminated with daylight, an open space design that provides views, a thermal buffer wall to save energy, and a multi-functional living roof. Link to Cascadia GBC Case Study.
		Seattle Municipal (Key) Tower Remodel Remodel to City's office tower highlights green conference center.  Other improvements: energy efficiency upgrade based on a penguin flipper: entrance makeover to improve Civic Center connections, accessibility, energy use.
		Southwest Precinct of Seattle Police Department Sustainable building strategies used will lower operation and maintenance costs an esteimated $83,000 per year.  Highlights include canted wall and overhang to provide sun protection and operable windows with fritted glass.
		Yesler Community Center Located along a major arterial in central Seattle, Yesler Community Center serves as a neighborhood hub. The building contains a gymnasium, teen center, childcare facility, fitness center, computer room and meeting rooms.