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On average, Americans spend at least 90 percent of their time indoors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Brian Heather, the owner of Portland-based SolTerra Systems, can attest to that. He’s in the office 60 to 80 hours per week – a significant commitment for someone who values his relationship with nature. So, Heather is working on a solution.

“For me, I see these innovative systems as ways to bring nature into the building, effectively, and to do things that people can see,” he said. “I think there’s a mental health aspect that is also a part of building buildings. There are added benefits when you can actually feel and see nature around you.”

SolTerra, an electrical, roofing and landscaping company specializing in environmentally integrated building systems (like solar panels, eco-roofs and living walls), is now delving into the development arena. The company has two highly efficient Portland apartment projects in the works; Heather said the first one will serve as the largest demonstration of a living wall in the Pacific Northwest.

That project, the Woodlawn – a three-story, 18-unit mixed-use building – is already halfway complete. It’s being constructed on the corner of Northeast Durham Avenue and Oneonta Street, and will feature 2,200 square feet of commercial space, an eco-roof, ground-level solar awnings capable of generating 4.8 kilowatts, and 1,100 square feet of living walls – enough space for 3,000 plants.

“The big rage is net zero, but maybe net positive is a better goal,” Heather said. “If you add up all the square footage of the living wall, the at-grade (landscaping) and eco-roof, there’s more net square footage of vegetated area than the site had before we did the project.”

Sowing the seeds for growth

Heather, 30, started SolTerra in 2008 with $40,000 saved while revamping the solar division of a mechanical contractor in Seattle. He pursued certifications with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (among others) and soon found he was able to design and sell solar systems himself.

The company, which also has a Seattle office, performs about two to three residential solar installations per week, but it also conducts a lot of collaborative research. SolTerra, in conjunction with Portland State University, recently installed the largest green roof in the state for a Walmart store in Portland.

SolTerra started developing its living wall four years ago, and has a patent pending on the technology. The modular system uses 27-square-inch panels. Specialty fabricated geotextiles ensure even water distribution without overwatering; a 7?-inch air passage between the living wall and exterior framing prevents mold growth.

With the Woodlawn, Heather plans to prove the technology and then market it to clients around the world.

Cutting costs, not quality

Rather than delegate responsibility, SolTerra aims to take it on in order to exact greater control over projects.

“Usually, the more innovative a project gets, the more protective people are of liability,” Heather said. “You end up paying a lot of money as you end up shifting liability from architect to consultant to manufacturer. Our goal is to provide that warranty but eliminate some of the needless processes that are there from some of the hundred-year-old construction processes.”

SolTerra makes the decisions, designs the product, and manages its delivery in-house. Additionally, it value-engineers its buildings around the sustainable systems. It uses modular building strategies to minimize expenses. For instance, if a wall system comes in 8-foot sheets, SolTerra might make it 16 feet long rather than 18 feet to eliminate the need for costly cutting.

For the Woodlawn project, Rahim Abbasi is a professional engineer, and Andrea Wallace, an intern architect, heads the process as SolTerra’s design director. She shares much of Heather’s passion for nature, having grown up in the hills around Helvetia.

“I believe that people are influenced by the space they live in, and as designers it’s our duty to make space that influences them in a positive way,” she said. “I feel like some of the best ways to really create that connection with architecture is through natural elements.”

The Woodlawn’s units will huddle around a central rain garden, and a 9,000-gallon rainwater cistern is expected to eliminate municipal water needs for landscaping during the summer.

Currently, Wallace is projecting the Woodlawn to earn 10 points more than required for a LEED platinum rating. That will be the minimum standard for a 46-unit project SolTerra is planning in the Brooklyn neighborhood, at the corner of Southeast Schiller Street and Milwaukie Avenue.

Instead of a living wall system, that development will feature a trellis system wrapped in vines, and every unit will have a planter for growing food.

“We’re designing a gutter system that will bend and move around the courtyard so that when it rains you’ll be able to hear the water coming down, so there will be more of an acoustic effect,” Wallace said.

Dollars and sense

The Portland Development Commission is providing $275,000 in gap financing for the approximately $2.5 million Woodlawn project. SolTerra is providing $600,000 in equity, and has a construction loan from Pioneer Trust Bank in Salem. The company also is getting approximately $75,000 in incentives for its eco-roof and energy management systems.

The city has a big stake in leafy building surfaces. Matt Burlin, environmental program coordinator for Portland’s sustainable stormwater division, said there are 420 eco-roofs throughout the city totaling 22.2 acres – the equivalent of 22 downtown city blocks. Together, they remove 11.2 million gallons of stormwater from the sewer system annually.

“If we talk in terms of our sewer system … because of the combination of sewage and stormwater, the capacity of our pipes has been challenged. That’s why we built the Big Pipe,” Burlin said of the $1.4 billion project completed in 2011.

The impact of living walls is less documented, but Burlin said there are about 15 installations throughout the city, including an ongoing demonstration at PSU’s Shattuck Hall Ecological Learning Plaza.

Heather said many living wall systems can cost as much as $150 to $200 per square foot. He wants to get his below $100 – possibly even $50 – per square foot.

“In the future, I’d like to continue to develop building integrated technology,” he said. “If we can exemplify it in a for-profit model, it’s almost like being able to continue our research and develop without going out and seeking grants or anything like that … So we’ll always use our projects as ways to push the envelope.”