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Earning Living Building certification is a rare achievement.

This is especially the case for commercial structures. Only 20 such buildings worldwide have achieved that feat.

One, however, is in Oregon. Designed and built by Portland firm Green Hammer, the wine tasting room at in Jacksonville, slightly east of Medford, is the latest building to meet or exceed the exacting standards set out by the .

鈥淲e’re the first tasting room in the world, and the first business to achieve it in Oregon,鈥� Cowhorn owner Bill Steele said. 鈥淲e’re the only small business in the world to have achieved the materials petal, which means everything, down to the last screw, was vetted.鈥�

The project lasted three years from contract to completion, and the results were better than expected, Steele said.

鈥淲hen someone tells you you’re the 20th building in the world to achieve that, it’s a little bit of 鈥榮it down and wow,’鈥� he said. 鈥淣ot the 20th building in Oregon; the 20th in the world. It’s a 鈥榳ow’ thing. I think visually it came out perfect.鈥�

The Living Building Challenge is a green building certification program and sustainable design framework run by the International Living Future Institute. The nonprofit’s mission is to combat global climate change by creating an urban ideal where no fossil fuels are used. To help achieve that, the group created the Living Building Challenge in 1996 as a tool to persuade designers and builders to adopt more sustainable practices and materials.

Living Buildings have net-zero or net-positive energy use and net-positive water use. They’re also free of toxic chemicals. Such buildings’ energy footprints are much smaller than typical commercial structures’ footprints. They must demonstrate this by operating for at least a year before certification can be granted.

For projects unable to meet Living Building Challenge requirements entirely, 鈥減etal鈥� certification is available when requirements are met in one or more of seven areas: materials, site, water, energy, health, equity and beauty. Beyond that, a building can earn net-zero energy certification as well.

Erica Dunn, an architect and design team manager with Green Hammer, was the lead designer for the Cowhorn tasting room project. This is the first Living Building she or Green Hammer has completed, she said, although the firm did carry out early design work for a Southeast Portland project that was originally aiming to be a Living Building before changes were made.

鈥淲e’ve had a little bit of background in terms of the materials used,鈥� Dunn said. 鈥淲e’ve done a lot of net-zero energy buildings, so this was like taking it to the next level. What’s great for us (is) it’s such a complex certification program that it requires so much teamwork 鈥� you need a really well-functioning team to make it happen, and as a design-build firm we’re kind of built to make that happen.鈥�

Steele and his wife, Barbara, came across Green Hammer’s work during their search for a homebuilder. Once they learned about the firm’s commitment to green building, they decided to go a step further.

鈥淚 think first of all you have to know Cowhorn is a certified biodynamic vineyard and garden; we’re a higher standard,鈥� Bill Steele said. 鈥淭he gold standard of farming is biodynamic, and we’ve been biodynamic since the get-go.鈥�

In addition to producing wine, Cowhorn harvests thousands of pounds of asparagus and other produce each year. All of it is grown without use of synthetic pesticides or other chemicals. So, when the Steeles wanted to build a new tasting room overlooking their 25-acre vineyard, it made sense to stick with their principles, Bill Steele said.

鈥淲e really wanted a building that was consistent with our biodynamic philosophy,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd on one of our first calls we told them we want a building that doesn’t have any chemicals. We wanted a business with a minimal carbon footprint, minimal landfill issues, and that’s where Green Hammer said, 鈥榃ell, you’re kind of talking about the Living Building Challenge.’鈥�

The materials petal was the most challenging part of the project, Dunn said, mostly because of the research needed to document that no materials contained any of dozens of 鈥渞ed list鈥� substances.

In addition, all Living Building materials must be locally sourced. This led to the use of rock and timber, including cedar, harvested on the Steeles’ property.

Even the Core 10 stainless steel used in the roof contains no red-listed substances, Dunn added. Meanwhile, the building features little touches like the use of cork siding that will change color as it ages. Such components provide aesthetic beauty but also a nod to the vineyard itself.

鈥淚t has to be a beautiful building,鈥� Dunn said. 鈥淵ou can certainly design highly engineered buildings that aren’t attractive. And then with equity, it’s about making a space that’s open to everyone, and the tasting room is open to the public.鈥�

Possibly the easiest part of the challenge was achieving net-positive energy. Southern Oregon is a prime location for the use of solar power, and the vineyard already contained a large solar array. It now produces 190 percent of the power the facility consumes, Steele said.

A handful of residential buildings in Oregon are registered with the Living Building Challenge, but to date only the Desert Rain House in Bend has achieved full Living Building certification. Meanwhile, other commercial Living Building projects in Oregon have fizzled. A high-profile one was the Oregon Sustainability Center, a proposed high-rise. But the Cowhorn one succeeded, and both Cowhorn and Green Hammer are not shy about using the certification to boost their credentials. They also want to see their Living Building project lead to similar ones moving forward.

鈥淥ur goal is to educate and inspire,鈥� Steele said. 鈥淎nd you can’t inspire people without education. We got to thinking that this is something we’d like to do, to take on this challenge in order to educate and inspire.鈥�

Dunn agreed.

鈥淵es, more so than before, it’s about realizing it’s achievable,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he materials were complex because of the research that goes into it. But now that we have that information and a database of knowledge, being able to apply it to the next building becomes a lot easier. The Living Building Challenge ties in really well with our company’s mission because of our focus on regenerative building. It’s a natural for us.鈥�

Sustainability expert weighs in on the Living Building Challenge

One of the few firms in the Portland-metro area with previous Living Building Challenge experience is SERA Architects. It worked on the ill-fated Oregon Sustainability Center more than a decade ago. That project, at one time expected to cost $72 million, became a victim of the recession, according to SERA’s sustainability director, Mark Perepelitza.

鈥淚t had a fair amount of public money, and with the economy going to hell in 2008 it was too difficult to fund something so innovative,鈥� he said.

By contrast, smaller projects like the Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden are somewhat better suited to achieving Living Building certification, Perepelitza said. This is particularly true of rural projects with access to fresh water because the water petal becomes more viable.

鈥淥f the three most challenging petals, I’d probably put the water as the most challenging and materials second and energy third,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t depends on the project’s specifics, and in their case, because of the rural site they had different ways to meet the water petal requirements.鈥�

In a constrained urban setting, Perepelitza said, this becomes more difficult.

鈥淚 think it’s a great accomplishment that they’ve been able to do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ach type of project and location brings its own set of unique issues or challenges. 鈥� There are a number of projects that are in the works, so in the next couple of years we’ll probably see some projects coming online.鈥�

SERA is exploring the possibility of building itself a new headquarters, Perepelitza said, and that when it does so the firm may choose to pursue Living Building certification.

鈥淲hat we’re eager to do is to find a way to apply the Living Building Challenge to buildings that are over 30,000 square feet 鈥� maybe (50,000) to 60,000 square feet 鈥� and do it at something like much closer to market rate, which is tough. But it’s a huge challenge and it’s what we’re eyeing.鈥� 鈥� Josh Kulla