As a forward-thinking design-build contractor, Green Hammer is accustomed to tackling projects that push the green envelope. Its latest fits the bill.

In Oak Grove, an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Green Hammer is wrapping up construction on the Oaks at Rose Villa – a neighborhood of four triplexes. It’s designed to become the first senior living development in the Portland-metro area to receive net zero energy certification from the International Living Future Institute.

All 12 Craftsman-style residences are expected to produce as much energy as they consume. Both active and passive techniques – a large, south-facing solar array on the roof of a shared carport and triple-paned windows, for example – are being used to help achieve this.

Green Hammer architect and design team manager Erica Dunn believes the project has the potential to influence others in the future.

“It’s just about to open, which is really exciting,” she said. “It’s been a really great project and it’s been a lot of fun to work on it with (Rose Villa).”

Rose Villa is the owner and developer of the project, which is being integrated into a 22-acre senior living community featuring a wide range of stand-alone neighborhoods.

“I’ve been here 12 years,” Rose Villa CEO Vassar Byrd said. “And when I came on site it was slowly but surely crumbling at the edges. There was no place to go but up.”

The complex has since been transformed.

“We have a huge group involved in environmental stewardship,” Byrd said. “And this is a great opportunity to really play to the interests of both current and future elders. The idea of taking it one step further as a housing provider was great. It was like, ‘let’s go all the way to a zero-energy footprint.’”

The complex is designed around a central courtyard dominated by a towering heritage savannah oak. Each triplex – wood-framed and with metal roofing – has two ground-level units and one second-floor unit served by both staircase and elevator. Residences range from roughly 1,100 square feet to around 1,600 square feet. Each one is heated and cooled by just a single HVAC unit stashed above the bathroom entrance. Triple-paned glazing imported from Poland and a virtually airtight envelope help insulate the building and keep air quality high.

Byrd admitted that net-zero-energy certification likely added around $50,000 per unit to the final cost, but that didn’t deter prospective residents.

“It does come at a higher price because it’s not a standard yet,” she said. “I wasn’t sure people would put their money down, and as a nonprofit you have to prove the concept before loans are approved,” she said. “But we sold out and it only took about six months max. It was really amazing.”

And down the road, the cost savings generated by the energy efficiency is expected to continue to hold appeal.

“I think that often net zero energy is most appealing to owner-occupied buildings or buildings that owners hold onto,” Dunn said. “So they make a lot of sense for someone who can get dollars for construction but a harder time with operating costs. In senior living we’re seeing a lot of growth in that area, regardless, and I think the (baby) boomers in particular are a group coming out of the ’60s where living their values is really important to them even as they age into community living spaces.”

To earn net zero energy certification from the ILFI, occupants will monitor their energy usage over the next year and compare it with the energy produced by the solar array. If the numbers work out, the project will be certified sometime in 2020.

“We’ve set up a lot of monitoring, but the expectation is zero or very little energy cost,” Byrd said.

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Beth Heider, the chief sustainability officer for Skanska USA Building, traveled to Portland last month to visit the firm’s local office and attend the 2018 Living Future UnConference.

Heider has been with Skanska for 16 years, and now works out of its office in Alexandria, Virginia. She helped launch the firm’s National Green Council in 2008 and remains involved with the U.S. Green Building Council. She is an advocate for cutting-edge green building practices, and has been a part of major research studies, including the Living Building Financial Study and the Preservation Green Lab’s study of the benefits of green retrofits.

Heider spent a few minutes during her recent visit to speak with the 91��Ƶ.

91��Ƶ: What’s something current and exciting you’ve been working on with Skanska?

Beth Heider: We have an infrastructure development group that does public-private partnerships, design-build-operate investment properties, and one of the signature projects we’re currently working on through our infrastructure development group is the LaGuardia (Airport) replacement terminal.

91��Ƶ: That’s really high profile, isn’t it?

Heider: It’s a big-time job. It’s going to be four to five billion dollars, and it’s design-build-operate over 35 years. So that project is really kind of interesting, because when you have an investment horizon that’s that long it really incentivizes making more sustainable decisions. So that’s been a really interesting project. So don’t hate us right now when you go through LaGuardia!

91��Ƶ: On a typical project, like LaGuardia, how do you work? Do you review plans? Designs? Make suggestions? Adjustments? Where do you come in during the process?

Heider: I would say that I’m a catalyst for helping our teams achieve and raise their vision, and that sort of presents different opportunities. In the case of LaGuardia I worked in the project pursuit phase to articulate our vision and allow that to sort of set the tone for the design and construction. It’s bringing all of our co-creators together to express the sustainability vision and then to identify opportunities for charettes and workshops to hone that vision. And once that’s identified we’ll have a team that can carry that vision forward.

91��Ƶ: But at what point in the process are you most active?

Heider: So I get involved especially in projects that are big projects that have more ambitious sustainability visions. And I also work with all of our business units to put together their green action plans, because we have business objectives around green building; that is what we build. I’m an architect by training so I naturally gravitate to the front end: What are we building? And, how can we essentially enhance what we build at the very front end? I really believe if we can make the business argument for building more sustainably, and shift the value argument from just initial cost to life cycle value, that we can achieve a lot, and that’s, from my perspective, what sustainability is all about. … Building for a better society means that we need to take into consideration society’s needs and envision a more harmonious future for society. But it also means that no margin, no mission. If we aren’t successful as a business, we won’t live to play another day.

91��Ƶ: When did sustainability really catch your imagination and get you started on your current path?

Heider: In the 1990s there was this sort of false argument between business and profit and sustainability. I mean, if you were going to be into sustainability you were a true environmental activist.

91��Ƶ: You still hear those arguments.

Heider: Business could advocate, ‘Oh, it’s too expensive.’ And environmental activists are saying, ‘If you really take a look at the externalized cost of what you evil developers and builders are doing, it’s actually too costly not to take into consideration.’ But I think that that is a false choice. And I think that we have managed to prove out over time, and I think continue to protect the argument that you can have both. And if you have a thoughtful design process, that you bring the team together to come up with really elegant solutions early on, and you have a long enough time horizon. There are lovely things you can get done in a one-year time horizon. But some of the things that provide the most lasting benefits you need to make an investment of maybe a two-, three-, four-, five-year time horizon.

91��Ƶ: Let’s talk about the concept of a Living Building.

Heider: So, early days, since we’re here in Portland and the Living Future UnConference is happening just down the road at the Convention Center, early days when (the International Living Future Institute) was creating the Living Building Challenge, they sought to do I would say a more revolutionary shift in the market toward deep green buildings and even regenerative buildings. So ILFI created the Living Building Challenge, which is a moon shot sort of idea – certainly it was when it was rolled out in 1996. So, the idea was a metaphor like a flower – that (each building) should be like a flower, that it only uses the energy that it can produce. It only has access to the ground for sustenance, that it’s beautiful and only uses the water that falls on its space. The building should be like a living thing. It’s a certification scheme and a framework, which is in some ways similar to LEED in that it’s third-party certified and encourages greener, more socially just buildings. But in the early days, it was really highly aspirational vision, where LEED was all about incremental improvement, which is also really important because not everyone can be a radical.

But if you had a few projects that could prove the concept and actually do this, it would have a ripple effect across the industry doing things like making sure that materials we put in our buildings are better for the people who are in the building and better for the planet, and that has a cascade effect on the entire supply chain.

91��Ƶ: That was early days. Where does the LBC stand today?

Heider: We’re already beginning to see that materials have been developed to support the materials petal. The materials petal in early days was almost impossible because it called for pretty radical transparency. It even called for, if you, Josh, were building a building and it was found that, for example, you have to have electricity in your building and you have to have wires to carry the electricity through the building. But in the U.S. all the electrical wiring, and certainly the wiring that is most commonly available, is jacketed with vinyl. And vinyl is a bad actor from a chemical composition standpoint, especially when it burns. So, if you can’t find the materials that comply with the red list, it calls you to be an advocate. So, you’re actually called to write to suppliers of this product that you’d like to have other options … and say, ‘You know, it’s great that we’re going to have to use this material right now, but as soon as there is a better option I’m not going to buy your nasty stuff. I’m going to buy those things that meet petal certification because it’s better for nature and it’s better for people.’

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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 .

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

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

“When someone tells you you’re the 20th building in the world to achieve that, it’s a little bit of ‘sit down and wow,’” he said. “Not the 20th building in Oregon; the 20th in the world. It’s a ‘wow’ thing. I think visually it came out perfect.”

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, “petal” 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.

“We’ve had a little bit of background in terms of the materials used,” Dunn said. “We’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 – 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.”

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.

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

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.

“We really wanted a building that was consistent with our biodynamic philosophy,” he said. “And 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, ‘Well, you’re kind of talking about the Living Building Challenge.’”

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 “red list” 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.

“It has to be a beautiful building,” Dunn said. “You 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.”

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.

“Our goal is to educate and inspire,” Steele said. “And 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.”

Dunn agreed.

“Yes, more so than before, it’s about realizing it’s achievable,” she said. “The 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.”

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.

“It 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,” 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.

“Of the three most challenging petals, I’d probably put the water as the most challenging and materials second and energy third,” he said. “It 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.”

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

“I think it’s a great accomplishment that they’ve been able to do it,” he said. “Each type of project and location brings its own set of unique issues or challenges. … 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.”

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.

“What 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 – maybe (50,000) to 60,000 square feet – 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.” – Josh Kulla

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The International Living Future Institute will host its annual Living Future unConference at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland from May 1 to 4. The theme of this year’s event is “Authenticity and Action.”

This three-day event, now in its 12th year, will bring together individuals and organizations with unique backgrounds, experiences and personalities to talk about how to take action toward a living future. Keynote speakers will include conservationist Terry Tempest Williams, activist Raj Patel and urban revitalization strategy consultant Majora Carte.

The unConference will also feature workshops on a variety of topics related to sustainability, including biophilic design and net-positive energy, and many other educational sessions. There will also be several off-site visits, including a tour of a local sustainable winery and the Lloyd District.

For builders, sessions such as “The Water Cycle of Buildings: Net Positive Water and the Living Building Challenge Workshop,” “Tangible Change: Materials and the Living Building Challenge Workshop” or “Recruiting and Retaining a Multicultural Workforce” may be of particular interest.

For more information and to register, visit .

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People interested in learning about the social consciousness of firms they are interested in joining or working with now have a new tool.

The , which is administered by the International Living Future Institute, is a voluntary disclosure program for a wide range of business aspects. Companies report information regarding workplace diversity, worker benefits, equity, local benefits, safety and stewardship.

Currently, Portland-based firms Bora Architects, Hennebery Eddy Architects, Ankrom Moisan Architects, Opsis Architecture and Yost Grube Hall Architecture are taking part in the program.

“When we conceived the program in 2014, we wanted to provide a third-party framework and tool to take a look at the HR policies,” Just program manager Francis Janes said. “We wanted to help companies deepen their engagement with their employees.”

Nationwide, approximately 500 companies have registered for the program. Around 70 have navigated the entire process and received a Just label, which is valid for two years. Companies pay the International Living Future Institute a processing fee ranging from $500 to $25,000, depending on the number of employees.

“Just was already associated with the construction industry,” Bora Architects interior designer Amy Running said. “It had the advantage being within our industry and sphere.”

Unlike the B-Corp movement, the Just program doesn’t give official certifications. Instead, each company seeking to participate submits information about its activities in each one of Just’s six categories. The group then takes that data and compiles it into a social justice label similar to a nutrition label used for food and beverage products. Each company can get a maximum of three squares in each area. The better a company rates in a particular area, the more squares it gets.

“Part of the goal of being part of this is to provide a road map of where we want to go,” said Pat Sanchez, associate principal and business manager at Opsis Architecture. “It helps tell us where we are and where we want to go.”

One of the biggest areas that many metro-area architecture firms seek improvement is gender diversity. Hennebery Eddy Architects and Ankrom Moisan Architects were the only local firms to get the maximum three-square rating in that particular area.

“If you are going to build a diverse and rich workforce, you have to be mindful every step of the way,” Hennebery Eddy Architects President Tim Eddy said. “You have to think about what each hire brings to the recipe of the company. That is a really big deal for us.”

The label serves as a tangible reminder for companies to make sure that policies discussed in boardrooms are put into action. YGH has taken part in the Just program since 2014 and was one of the first local firms to receive a label.

“This helps when we look at how we pay both genders and promote to ownership,” said Leslie Maynard, human resources director at YGH. “It helps to benchmark how you have been doing and where we want to go in the future. It is a good reminder to work toward your goals and not put them in a drawer.”

One of the biggest benefits provided by the Just program is allowing participants to measure goal pursuits in concrete ways. Also, companies can compare themselves to others within their industry.

“I think we will see dividends from being part of the program over the next few years,” Eddy said. “Clients are not looking at it yet. I can imagine that for some of our socially conscientious, cultural and public clients, it may become important to them. It will be more meaningful to prospective staff.”

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