The data is in: PAE Living Building now is officially one

The data is in: PAE Living Building now is ocially one

By: Hilary Dorsey

(https://djcoregon.com/ 2024 // 4 Minute Read

After demonstrating exceptional performance during a full year of operation, the PAE Living Building (https://djcoregon.com/news/2022/04/07/pae-living-building-aiming-to-live-up-to-its-name/) in Portland has earned living building certication from the International Living Future Institute The certication conrms the building meets the most rigorous sustainability standard and is among the most resilient structures in the world.

The ve-story, 58,000-square-foot, mixed-use building, in Old Town, is the rst fully certied living building in Portland and the 35th worldwide.

https://djcoregon.com/news/2024/05/24/the-data-is-in-pae-living-building-now-is-officially-one/

Solar panels operate on the roof of the PAE Living Building, in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown. Over the course of a year, those panels and off-site ones generated 113 percent of the energy needed to operate the building. (Jamie Goodwick/PORTLANDRONE)

TheLivingBuildingChallenge (LBC)requiresa12-monthpost-occupancyperformanceperiod.Duringthattime,datais collectedtoverifythatabuilding’senergyandwaterusearenet-positive.ThePAELivingBuilding’socialperiodwas fromJanuary2023throughDecember2023.

“We had to be (nearly) full also,” PAE principal Marc Brune said. “Eighty-ve percent leased out was the target.”

In summer 2022, that target was reached. Half of the building’s second oor, programmed for an oce tenant, is still available for lease.

The PAE Living Building is the rst certied living building that is both located in a metropolitan area and developerdriven. The building was a private development funded through a partnership featuring Downtown Development Group, PAE, Edlen & Co., ZGF, Walsh Construction Co., and Apex Real Estate Partners

The LBC includes seven “petals,” or performance categories: energy, water, place, health and happiness, equity, beauty, and materials. The team must provide a narrative and description for each petal, as well as provide data on water and energy use.

For the certication process, one of the challenges for the PAE Living Building team was the materials petal. A vetting process was used to ensure every single material used in the building would measure up, said Kathy Berg, a ZGF partner and the design lead for the project. The team had to nd products that do not have any chemicals of concern by rst working within the International Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) list. If a product was not available, and a substitution could not be found, the team tried to push the market, she said.

“You ask for those chemicals to be removed from those products from different manufacturers,” Berg said.

If a project team cannot secure a suitable alternative, it can get an exception to use a product with an illicit chemical. The materials process has areas of opportunity to improve and be more ecient, Berg said.

Over the performance period, the PAE Living Building generated 113 percent of the energy needed to power itself from on-site and off-site solar panels. That exceeded the LBC minimum requirement of 105 percent.

The building’s solar array did not generate as much energy in the rst year as anticipated, Brune said. The team has made corrections and replaced some equipment. The solar array is expected to start producing more energy this year.

The team predicted the building would be at 19 Energy Use Intensity (EUI) – the amount of energy used per square foot annually, Brune said. The building performed even better – at 16 EUI.

Also, the PAE Living Building collected and treated 100 percent of water needed for all functions. Such needs are met via on-site rainwater capture. The building also features gray water treatment, nutrient recovery, and a ve-story, vacuumush, composting toilet system. The circular system produces liquid fertilizer and agriculture-grade compost on-site, providing the building owners with another income source.

“I think what’s been really fun to watch is how many different community events have happened in this space,” Berg said.

Morethan3,400peoplehavetouredthebuildingsinceitsopening.

Theprojectcanbereplicated,Bergsaid.BothPAEand ZGFarelookingatdifferentprojecttypesthatcanbeliving buildings.PAEwouldliketoexplorehowtheLBCcouldapplytoaffordablehousing,Brunesaid,butaddedthatsuch projectswouldbechallengingduetowateruse.

“Ihadhighexpectationsforthisbuilding,”Brunesaid.“IlikeitbetterthanIthoughtIwould.”

ThePAELivingBuildingisarealfeatherinPortland’scap,Bergsaid,notingthat ZGFhopestobeabletocontributeto moresuchprojectsinPortlandandbeyond.