City Green Building Research

• Regulatory Pathways to Net-Zero Water: Guidance for Innovative Water Projects in Seattle - February 2011 prepared by: Cascadia Green Building Council for the City of Seattle to identify regulatory pathways for Seattle-area projects pursing net zero water strategies. This report describes obstacles present within current codes, identifies possible alternative pathways for projects seeking approvals, and provides guidance to design teams pursing the goals of the Living Building Challenge.
• Green Roofs in Seattle: A Survey of Vegetated Roofs and Rooftop Gardens - August 2010 by: Annika McIntosh, University of Washington Green Futures Lab. This report provides a snapshot of industry trends, project locations, and the total square footage of green roofs in Seattle today. This information will help us support the expansion of green roofs as a green building strategy.
• Green Roof Performance Study - June 2012 prepared by: Cardno TEC, Inc. To evaluate performance of green roofs in local climate conditions, SPU and OSE managed a multi-year monitoring effort. This project collected data from green roofs on five buildings, including continuous monitoring of a variety of characteristics. The findings from this study improve our understanding of how green roofs work in Seattle, and will inform future stormwater regulations.
• Multifamily Billing Analysis: New Mid-Rise Buildings in Seattle - December 2009. by: Ecotope Inc.with GGLO. Energy and water bills from ten new mid-rise multifamily buildings in Seattle were analyzed to better understand how energy is used in this building type, and to determine where to focus efforts aimed at conservation.
• Cost of Green Survey of Market Rate Housing in Seattle - July 2011 by: Davis Langdon. Report examines the cost of incorporating sustainable design features into market rate housing through an examination of a population of projects in Seattle. The report compares the cost of green-rated market rate housing project and to similar standard projects.
• Cost of Green Analysis for Affordable Housing in Seattle and Portland - July 2009  by: Davis Langdon. Report examines the cost of incorporating sustainable design features into affordable housing projects. Includes analysis of overall construction costs for green-rated and standard affordable housing projects, and a summary of key findings.
• LEED Portfolio Analysis 2003-2011 – April 2012. Report evaluates the impacts of innovative LEED certified green buildings on the City's infrastructure and resources over time and calculates the anticipated savings in transportation, water, energy, carbon and the actual savings in construction & demolition waste.
• Built Green Portfolio Analysis 2008-2011 – April 2012. Report identifies the most commonly implemented sustainable design strategies and evaluates the impacts of innovative Built Green certified single-family and townhome projects on the City's infrastructure and resources over time.
• Performance Evaluation Report - Seattle City Hall and Justice Center - June 2008 by: Paladino & Company. This report documents the results of the post-occupancy evaluation of Seattle City Hall and the Seattle Justice Center and uses the cost/benefit information gleaned from it to determine the value of their sustainable measures over the total building life cycle.
• Residential Energy Comparison: Built Green and LEED - November 2008. by: Ecotope Inc. Report focuses on the energy impacts of LEED and Built Green rating systems in single and multifamily construction in Seattle & King County.
• LEED-Certified Buildings in Seattle: Analysis and Projections - January 2006 by Paladino & Company. Study developed profiles of the water, energy and solid waste measures incorporated into the first 15 Seattle LEED certified buildings.
• Green Building Pre- and Post- Campaign Testing - 2005. by: Pacific Rim Research for City of Seattle, U.S. Green Building Council, King County and NEEA.Part of Build Green NW Marketing Campaign.
• Charting Common Ground for Salmon and Buildings -December 2003 by Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems for Seattle Public Utility and Seattle City Light.
• LEED Performance & Evaluation Plan: Seattle Justice Center & City Hall - December 2003. by Paladino & Company for Seattle Public Utility.
• LEED Cost/Benefit Analysis of McCaw Performance Hall and Seattle Justice Center - April 2003. by SBW Consulting, Inc. for the Seattle Office of Sustainability and the Environment.  Analysis of anticipated cost/benefit of two City facilities slated for LEED Silver certification. Conclusion was that LEED is a good investment, particulary in owner-occupied office-type environments.  For a one-page overview of the report, read the Summary.
• High Performance Building Delivers Results - May 2001.Final report from Seattle City Light's Sustainable Demand Project.

Policy

• Seattle Green Building Capital Initiative Summary Report April 22, 2009. The City of Seattle is advancing a suite of new policy and program directions that will enable us to achieve the objectives of the Green Building Capital Initiative. This policy direction maximizes environmental, economic and social benefit and minimizes adverse impact to stakeholders, while providing a high degree of confidence that the stated energy efficiency goals will be achieved.
  
  Seattle’s Community Carbon Footprint, Available

Code Research

• Seattle Solar Code Gap Analysis, February 2010. by: HDR Engineering, Inc. for U.S. Department of Energy; National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the City of Seattle
    Appendix C: Compilation of Solar Easement Reports
    Appendix D: Solar Map Screenshots
    Appendix E: Draft Best Management Practice Review Submittal
• Code and Regulatory Barriers to the Living Building Challenge for Sustainable, Affordable, Residential Development Report 1: Findings. November 2008 by: Cascadia Region Green Building Council for City of Vancouver, WA & Clark County, WA.
• Code and Regulatory Barriers to the Living Building Challenge for Sustainable, Affordable, Residential Development Report 2: Strategies and Recommendations. April 2009 by: Cascadia Region Green Building Council for City of Vancouver, WA & Clark County, WA.

Market Research Reports

• Incremental Cost, Measurable Savings: Enterprise Green Communities Criteria - October 2009. by Enterprise. Study shows the cost effectiveness of meeting Enterprise Green Communities Criteria.
• National Review of Green Schools:  Costs, Benefits and Implications for Massachusetts" - December 2005. by Greg Kats for Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
• Green Value: Green Buildings, Growing Assets - 2005. by The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Study of 11 green buildings in the U.S. and Canada which found that--in addition to the payback efficiency measures provide over time--a "green" designation can also increase a building's market value.
• Cost of Green Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of Sustainable Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption - July 2007 by Davis Langdon.  Analysis of relative costs of various building types (LEED and non-LEED) which concludes there is no significant difference in average costs for green buildings as compared to non-green buildings.
• The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings - October 2003. by Greg Kats, Capital E.  Analysis of both first costs and 20-year operational costs and savings of 30 completed LEED projects.

Fire Station Eco-Charrette Report 

Seattle neighborhood fire stations serve a critical role in localized emergency response, binding neighborhoods together and reflecting the local culture. With the Mayor’s environmental priorities and Seattle’s commitment to LEED certification, green building is an important criterion for the fire station projects. This report together with technical briefs on Water Harvesting and Health & Wellness summarizes the results of a collaboration throughout 2006 between City Green Building and Seattle’s Fleets and Facilities Department (FFD) that focused on sustainable design for the neighborhood fire station program.

Seattle Strategic Plans

• Seattle Comprehensive Plan 2004-2024:  "Towards a Sustainable Seattle"
• Northwest Sustainable Building Action Plan - 1999

City Green Building Program Reports

• 2008-2009 City Green Building Progress Report
• 2007 City Green Building Annual Report
• 5-Year Report: "Building a Better City"  find full report in program history section and learn about the tremendous growth in the green building industry and Seattle's noteworthy sustainability achievements between 2000-2005.