Featured Project

View the case study here.

Exxcel Pacific General Contractors
Project: Joule Apartments - Seattle, WA.

Joule Apartments is a 294 unit mixed use apartment building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Built and Certified by Exxel Pacific General Contractors, the building achieved a 3-Star rating and features a vegetated roof, underground parking, a building envelope that is 10% more efficient than code, a better than 90% recycling rate for construction waste, and even a designated pet washing station in the parking garage. Centrally located in one of the most urban neighborhoods in Seattle, it is located within short walking distance of public transportation, super-markets, coffee shops, restaurants and countless other amenities, and offers its residents a fitness center and resident's lounge. From the pet washing station to the fitness center to the Energy Star appliances, Joule offers unique green features along with the green building staples rarely found in an apartment building.

Some of the many green features of the project include:

Site and Water Protection

• Built on an infill site, the former lot of a QFC grocery store
• Installed a green roof on 26% of the building roof
• On the remaining roof a light colored or "high albedo" roofing material was installed
• Provided structured parking for residents with dedicated parking spots for car-share vehicles, as well as bicycle parking
• Provided a fitness center in the building to promote occupant health
• Building includes common areas accessible to all occupants
• Created a transit oriented development that is near multiple bus lines and future light rail
• Designed as a mixed-use building including restaurant space
• Central location within walking distance of countless amenities
• No turf grass on the site
• Landscaped with drought tolerant plants

Energy Efficiency

• Envelope designed and built to use 10% more efficient than required by energy code
• Installed insulated exterior sheathing and airtight drywall approach
• Direct utility metering provided for each unit
• Maximized day-lighting in each of the units
• 90% of the lighting in units and common areas are high efficiency CFL or LED bulbs
• Use of Energy Star appliances including washing machines in each residence

Indoor Air Quality

• Building is a designated non-smoking building
• Designated pet washing station built into parking garage
• Ventilated after each new wet finish application and ducts flushed prior to opening
• Used building envelope consultant during design and conducted multiple inspections throughout build-out
• Built an enhanced drainage plane and air barrier between sheathing and siding
• Installed operable windows in all units
• Installed sealed combustion heating and hot water equipment
• Built in a lockable storage closet outside of units for hazardous materials

Material Use

• Achieved 90% construction waste recycling rate
• Reduced materials for indoor walls through open floor plans in units
• Used recycled content siding and did not use vinyl for siding or exterior trim
• Installed finger-jointed wood framed windows
• Metal roofing used for portions of the roof
• Installed recycled content Yakima decking

To see other previously featured virtual tours, click here.

Photos courtesy of Essex Property Trust (Owner) and Mike Seidl Photography (photographer).

New Members

Are you a Built Green member and a member of the Master Builders Association? Then your company is designated with a small green tree on the Master Builders Association website as a Built Green member. Your company is also listed on the Built Green website.

Welcome to our newest member companies!

Trammell Crow Residential
(425) 739-7652 in Bellevue

Beckman Building & Remodel
(253) 579-7965 in Seattle

E and H Construction
(425) 486-4049 in Bothell

New Certifications

Congratulations to:

Beckman Building & Remodeling for certifying their new-construction, single-family home project at 4511 Thackery Place in Seattle as 5-star Built Green.

Cobb Construction for certifying their new-construction, single-family home project at 4700 49th Ave. SW in Seattle as 3-star Built Green.

Dwell Development for certifying their new-construction, 4-unit single-family townhome project at 1105A, 1105B, 1107A and 1107B 23rd Ave. S. in Seattle as 5-Star Built Green.

Rick Burnstead Construction for certifying their new-construction, single-family home project at 3558 W. Harrison St. in Issaquah as 4-star Built Green.

Stuart Silk & Urban Arcadia for certifying their new-construction, single-family home project at 10349 Lakeshore Blvd. in Seattle as 5-star Built Green.

Trammell Crow Residential & Redmond Apartments, LLC for certifying their new-construction, 322-unit, multifamily apartment project at 8102 161st Ave. NE in Redmond as 3-star Built Green.

Urban Partners for certifying their new-construction, 325-unit, multifamily Aspira Apartments project at 1823 Terry Ave. in Seattle as 4-star Built Green.

BG Facebook Page

Join Built Green's Facebook Page!
Network and keep up to date on Built Green, local events, and the green building industry. We encourage you to become fans of our Facebook page. Also, it would be excellent if you would share our page with any relevant personal and professional contacts who might be interested in the content. Please visit here.

zHome

Construction starts on zHome project!
Built Green is a partner in creating a zero net-energy community in Issaquah, WA.

Essentials

• First multifamily, production, zero net energy/carbon neutral community in the U.S. Ten market-rate townhomes.
• Spearheaded by the City of Issaquah, in partnership with Howland Homes, Puget Sound Energy, King County, Built Green, Port Blakely Communities and WSU Energy Program.
• Built and developed by Howland Homes, based in Shoreline, Washington.
• Project includes major market transformative program, including:
  - website
  - Three-month open house education program
  - technical and general audience classes
  - media outreach
  - one unit retained as five-year demonstration unit
• Located in Issaquah Highlands neighborhood of Issaquah, Washington.

Performance Benchmarks

• True zero net energy, carbon neutral.
• 60 percent water use reduction.
• Ultra-sustainable, healthy materials.
• 90 percent of all waste recycled.
• Site stormwater runoff recharged on-site, emulating original forested state.

Goals

• Provide inspiring, real world example of how climate change can be deeply addressed (buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions).
• Catalyze market for new wave of ultra-sustainable housing.
• Educate lay and technical audiences about zero energy housing.
• Jump start large sector of green-collar economy.

Contact: Brad Liljequist, zHome Project Manager, (425) 837-3448.

Sponsored by:
 

Events

Seattle Green Festival
June 5 to 6, WA State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle
Welcome to the Seattle Green Festival®, a joint project of Global Exchange and Green America. Named one of the top 10 green cities in the U.S. in 2005 by National Geographic's The Green Guide, what better place to celebrate an urban community's vision of green than Seattle? Led by the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, the City of Seattle is proud to co-host the Green Festival in the Pacific Northwest. Register here.

Make sure to visit the Built Green booth!

Sustainable West Seattle Festival
June 5, Delridge Community Center, West Seattle
Sustainable West Seattle is pleased to announce that they will be having their third annual Sustainable West Seattle Festival in conjunction with Delridge Day.

West Coast Energy Management Congress
June 15 to16, WA State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle
The West Coast Energy Management Congress (EMC) is the largest energy conference and technology expo held on the U.S. West Coast is specifically for business, industrial and institutional energy users. It brings together the top experts in all areas of the field to help you set a clear, optimal path to both energy cost control and energy supply security. Register here.

Classes

Classes listed below are approved workshops for fulfilling the annual Built Green education requirement for certifying projects.

AIA+2030: Aggressively Passive - employing passive systems for load reduction
June 4, Seattle City Hall, Seattle
This class is part of AIA+2030, a ten-session professional series to help design professionals create buildings that meet the energy efficiency goals of the 2030 Challenge. Properly designed, a building captures existing resources such as light, wind and hot/cold temperatures to provide for the comfort and needs of occupants. Passive systems work in concert to allow the building to manage energy demand by design. This session will build on the concepts introduced in Sessions 3 and 4 to flesh out a holistic strategy to designing passive systems. Register here.

Introduction to Built Green®
June 8, MBA Housing Center, Bellevue
The session is scheduled for June 8 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the MBA Housing Center at 335 116th Ave. SE in Bellevue. This seminar provides an introduction to the Built Green program and provides an introduction to the Built Green program. Learn how to certify a project and use the checklist, how to join, how the program works and other resources. The seminar presents examples of projects and covers how to fill out the Built Green checklist. This orientation has a cost of $30 and is required in order to certify homes as Built Green. Register here.

What is Green Building and what are the major Green Building Systems?
June 8, The Mountaineers, Seattle
Let the University of Washington and Sellen Construction help demystify green building. This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of sustainable construction practices, green building systems and managing jobsite safety with a green lens. Through interactive learning, participants will develop an understanding of green building systems currently being implemented on construction projects and create a framework to analyze the safety hazards. Register here.

WaterSense New Homes Workshop
June 9, MBA Housing Center, Bellevue
This workshop, presented by the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Cascade Water Alliance, will instruct developers, builders, municipal planners and irrigation professionals about the U.S. EPA's water efficiency specification for new homes. The goal of the WaterSense New Homes Program is to encourage development of homes that use 20 percent less water than standard new homes. Register here .

EPA-Certified Lead Renovator Training
June 10, MBA Housing Center, Bellevue
This eight-hour course trains renovation, repair and painting contractors how to work safely in housing with lead-based paint and comply with EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule and HUD's Lead Safe Housing Rule. Topics include health concerns; regulations; before, during and after work procedures; record keeping; and training non-certified workers. This training is required for any contractor who is involved in any construction activity that will have the potential to contact lead-based paint after the rule goes into effect.
Register here.

Puyallup Rain Gardening Planting Event
June 12, Spinning Elementary Neighborhood, Puyallup
Join Pierce Stream Team in building Rain Gardens in Puyallup on Saturday, June 12. They will show you how easy and attractive it is to build a rain garden at your home. Learn by helping build six rain gardens at homes near Spinning Elementary School. Register here.

Marketing Green Homes and Efficiency Improvement in Greater Seattle
June 29, MBA Housing Center, Bellevue
This 4-hour, interactive workshop will provide information and guidance on enhancing your marketing strategy for selling green homes and efficiency improvement in the Greater Seattle area. You will leave with a set of research results and plans that you can use immediately. Topics will include: Understanding the In-Market Home Efficiency Consumer, Planning To Win, Telling Your Value Proposition Story. Register here.

Infrared Thermography Training for Residential and Commercial Energy Audits
July 21-22, EOS Alliance Headquarters, Seattle
This course is designed to give attendees the confidence to use thermal imaging tools during residential and commercial energy audits. The course covers basic imager operation, heat transfer fundamentals, moisture instruction, insulation verification, image downloading/interpretation and the limitations of thermal imaging technology. Other test techniques such as blower doors, anomaly verification and other revenue increasing infrared targets will be discussed. The basics for writing reports, small business entrepreneurship and how to market to established firms will be covered. Register here.

Contact Built Green

Master Builders Association
335 - 116th Avenue SE
Bellevue, WA 98004
P: (425) 460-8238
F: (425) 646-5985
builtgreen@mbaks.com
www.builtgreen.net

Master Builders Association Calendar of Events

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