WA Ranked 3rd Nationwide for LEED Buildings — Seattle’s Fire Station 22 Featured as a Notable Project

Earlier this year, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the top 10 states in the nation for LEED Green Buildings in 2018, and Washington state took the 3^rd spot – the highest in its history – behind Illinois (1^st) and Massachusetts. States were ranked based on the square footage of LEED buildings certified per capita. Seattle’s Roanoke neighborhood Fire Station 22, a LEED Platinum facility, was featured as the state’s notable project in USGBC’s announcement. 

Seattle’s Sustainable Buildings & Sites Policy requires that all City-owned properties meet the LEED Gold standard along with other key performance requirements for energy, water, waste, and transportation. Fire Station 22 is one of over 40 facilities that were LEED-certified under the policy since its inception in 2000 and is one of only three City facilities, all fire stations, to have attained a LEED Platinum rating.   

Fire stations tend to be some of the most energy- and water-intensive facilities out there due to the nature of their critical, round-the-clock provision of emergency services. Creative solutions were, therefore, required to meet the already challenging LEED Platinum threshold. Here are some highlights from the Fire Station 22 project’s online LEED profile page: 

• 10,150 square feet, certified in April 2018 
• High-performance building envelope with highly efficient mechanical & plumbing systems 
• 15-foot deep roof overhang that increases stormwater collection, houses a PV array, and provides solar shading 
• 100% of water used for irrigation and 60% of water used for toilet flushing and truck washing comes from harvested rainwater 
• Circadian lighting strategies to reduce energy use and assist with sleep rhythms for firefighters 

Thanks to these strategies, Fire Station 22 is expected to exceed the energy performance required by Seattle’s sustainable building policy by 23%.  Congratulations to the design and construction teams led by Weinstein A+U and Par-tech Construction and to the Capital Development and Construction Management division in the City’s Department of Finance and Administrative Services, including Division Director Dove Alberg, Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy Program Manager David Kunselman and Fire Station 22 Project Manager David Jackson!