Northwest Maritime Center

Miller Hull | Port Angeles, Washington

Introduction

The Northwest Maritime Center (NWMC) aims to safeguard, enhance and revive the waters of Puget Sound. The project is located in Port Townsend, Washington, about 40 miles northwest of Seattle. Port Townsend’s strategic position on the shipping channels that lead into the west coast made it a bustling international boat-building seaport in the 1800s.TheNWMCisahubforeducatingpeopleabout traditional and modern maritime lifestyles. Moreover, it is the home of the Wooden Boat Foundation, which holds North America’s largest and oldest wooden boat festival. Aside from its educational components, theprojectoffersvitalpublicspacesandaccesstothe shoreline for residents and visitors of Port Townsend. The building’s architecture exemplifies the Northwest marine building style, and the project is constructed using sustainable harvested wood.

The NWMC project comprises two buildings with a total area of 26,550 square feet. The Education Building houses educational programs such as a boat building and repair facility, classrooms, and a replica of a ship’s pilot house. The building is colored red as an homage to the town’s historic brick buildings and traditional waterfront structures. On the other hand, the Resource Building showcases the community’s rich maritime history through a retail space (chandlery), small vessel rental and storage, exhibits and information galleries, meeting rooms, and offices for maritime partner organizations. The building’s warm yellow color pays tribute to the color of traditional maritime structures in the area. The buildings encircle a paved public plaza, which links the NWMC Education Pier, an adjacent public jetty and boardwalk, and the two buildings. The plaza also hosts significant community events and forever guarantees public access to the shoreline. A second- levelbalconyconnectsthetwobuildings,encirclesthe plaza, and offers panoramic views of Port Townsend BayandtheCascadeandOlympicmountainranges.

Ventilation

The Northwest Maritime Center (NWMC) project features various energy efficiency measures that include natural ventilation, heat recovery, and demand control ventilation systems. The project’s most significant source of energy savings is the sea, which serves as a source of thermal energy. The ocean-source geothermal system is a key sustainable feature that supplies all of the buildings’ HVAC and domestic hot water heating needs. The system uses near-constant ocean water temperatures as a heat source or sink, achieving efficiencies more than 300% better than a similarly sized gas-fired or electric resistance system.

The heat pumps that use the ocean water are connected in a closed loop to titanium heat exchangers located in the deep waters below a new pier. The use of titanium heat exchanger plates located 12–15 ft below the lowest tide line ensures minimal marine growth. The indoor heat pumps are grouped together in mechanical mezzanine areas in each building for centralized maintenance access.

Each building is provided with space conditioning through a combination of ducted air systems, radiators,fancoils,andradiantfloordeliverysystems. The buildings’ hybrid active/passive ventilation system helps to reduce fan energy. Radiant floor