The Oregon Sustainability Center

Two years ago, Oregon Environmental Council and Earth Advantage set out a vision to build the nation’s first large scale living building in Oregon.  Presented as a challenge by the Cascadia Green Building Council, a ‘living building’ means a building that uses net-zero energy and water, and even gives back energy and water to the system, and avoids the use of toxic materials.

What began as innovative shared space quickly caught the imagination of others to create something bigger.  Today this project has evolved to be known as the Oregon Sustainability Center, a partnership with the Oregon University System, the City of Portland, the Portland Development Commission and Portland Community College.

By being the first to develop a large-scale building that meets the Living Building Challenge, Oregon will remain on the cutting edge of sustainability and influence future innovations in building science and research nationally and globally. Creating a living building will be an investment in Oregon’s knowledge capital, international reputation, and demonstrate how to create healthier environments and solve global warming by dramatically cutting the carbon emissions that come from the built environment.  Buildings are the single largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change in the United States. 

In 2009, the Portland Development Commission solicited proposals to conduct a feasibility assessment to determine if it is possible to build a net-zero energy and water building to this scale.  Led by Gerding Edlen Development, has presented a vision for how we can achieve a high-rise living building that can capture and treat 100% of its water on site, using a living machine of plants and organisms to treat the water, and generate all of the energy on-site through solar power and by dramatically reducing energy use in the building.  

In 2010, the Oregon Sustainability Center will move into the final design stages for this project, with a plan to break ground by January 2011.  You can track progress and offer up your ideas and opinions about this project. Visit the Oregon Sustainability Center's web site.