Participants in the American Institute of Architects‘ program seek to achieve net zero energy use in their projects. How they accomplish it is up to them.

“They don’t tell you how to do it; they just say, ‘do it,’” said Erica Dunn, director of design for Portland-based Green Hammer.

The 2030 Commitment supports the , which was issued in 2006 to spur a global effort toward carbon neutral construction.

In 2018, Green Hammer became one of just 10 design firms in the United States to meet 2030 Commitment standards. More than 400 firms have signed on to participate in the program.

“It was surprising that there were so few firms meeting it,” Dunn said. “It was a nice confirmation that we are really pushing the envelope, that edge, in terms of sustainability.”

The 2030 Challenge ideal is that all future buildings and major renovations should be designed to meet an energy consumption standard of 70 percent below the regional or country average for the building type. Further, that standard will rise to 80 percent in 2020, 90 percent in 2025 and total carbon neutrality by 2030.

“It was a way to encourage firms to get on board with the 2030 Challenge, and also a means to start tracking what you’re doing,” Dunn said of participation in the 2030 Commitment program. “And if you’re tracking, it’s a way to improve upon it.”

Committed firms are then measured annually by their work. So firms achieving standards for 2018 are being judged on design work completed the previous year. Participants ensure consistent standards through use of the AIA’s 2030 Design Data Exchange, which creates standardized reporting and metrics and allows firms to measure their progress.

For Green Hammer, the major projects of 2017 that helped them achieve 2030 Commitment standards are the Tillamook Row multifamily project in the Eliot neighborhood of Northeast Portland and The Oaks at Rose Villa senior living community in Milwaukie. The former is the first net zero energy project of its type in the Portland area, while the latter is the first net zero energy senior living community of its type in the region.

Green Hammer also designs and builds single-family homes, and a number of those projects, Dunn said, also contributed to the firm’s achievement.

“Achieving (net) zero energy is no small feat,” said Han-Mei Chiang, president of the AIA’s Portland chapter. “Green Hammer and the other nine firms that achieved this significant milestone have helped prove that (net) zero energy buildings, the key to meeting the 2030 Commitment, are attainable in today’s marketplace.”

Dunn agreed.

“I would say it’s definitely a feather in our cap for getting it now, given that we got the Living Building certification for a 2015 design,” she said. “So that’s outside our portfolio right now, but coming off the completion of Tillamook Row, it’s been such a great project for us it’s nice to have this confirmation we’re on the right track.”

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In the short video below, Green Hammer Inc. Design Manager Erica Dunn and Director of Construction Mike Liggett talk about how they aim to achieve net-zero energy certification for Tillamook Row, the firm’s 16-unit multifamily residential project in the Eliot neighborhood of Northeast Portland.

Also, view our photo gallery of the project, as well as the full story right here.

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Amid efforts at the federal level to repeal and roll back environmentally conscious regulations, some builders are continuing to strive to exceed them.

One is Green Hammer Inc. The design-build firm, based in the Pearl District, has built a portfolio of buildings with performance greater than required by current building codes for Oregon and beyond.

The firm’s latest project in this vein is Tillamook Row, a multifamily development at 20 N.E. Tillamook St., in Portland‘s Eliot neighborhood. Crews are building 16 townhomes ranging from 750-square-foot studios to 1,320-square-foot, four-bedroom units.

Five structures will wrap around a central courtyard, and have roofs covered with photovoltaic panels. Combined, those panels will provide up to 82 kilowatts of energy per hour. The aim is for Tillamook Row to become the first net-zero-energy multifamily project in Portland to offer units for rent, Green Hammer design team manager Erica Dunn said.

Net zero certification is granted by the International Living Future Institute, a nonprofit that also oversees the Living Building Challenge. To gain certification, a structure (or group of structures) must produce more electricity over the course of a year than it consumes.

“I always say any building could be net zero if you just have a big enough place to put a solar array,” Green Hammer project manager Mike Liggett said. “You could have a really inefficient building with a big plot of land next to it with a solar array, but really, the trick is reducing the need for energy. That is first and foremost.”

For Tillamook Row, the solar energy component is just the beginning of that effort.

“A lot of reduction is in the design and the envelope,” Liggett said. “This has a super-insulated envelope that’s also airtight. And then we also use high-efficiency mechanical systems to ventilate the air and bring fresh, clean air into the units. Primarily by limiting the air infiltration you can get and provide a robust insulated layer, and that’s how we reduce the demand for energy.”

Even Energy Star appliances and LED lighting make a difference, he added.

Tillamook Row will have a 2,000-square-foot common house open to all tenants for shared meals, exercise and other gatherings. On-site parking will include electric vehicle charging stations, a storage building and an additional bike garage.

There will even be a trio of 1,200-gallon capacity cisterns that will collect rainwater to support maintenance of the central courtyard and landscaping.

“There’s enough water storage there to service the courtyard during the summer months and the dry season,” Liggett said. “Primarily it’s a gravity system, so it doesn’t require pumps or other such things that require energy.”

Plus, the Tillamook Row structures are being built to Passive House standards, which are meant to produce superior indoor air quality and greatly reduced heating and cooling needs. Typically, a house meeting those standards consumes around 70 percent less energy than a standard single-family home.

Green Hammer has already successfully completed a Living Building project in Southern Oregon. As such, the contractor generally chooses to use only building materials that would be acceptable within the Living Building Challenge, Liggett noted.

“We absolutely do use the healthiest materials we possibly can,” he said. “People don’t really think about their indoor air quality that much, but they should.”

Developer BCMC Properties is already growing its reputation for engaging in sustainable projects, and Tillamook Row is a huge step in that direction. Crews are quickly approaching the finish line for the project.

“We are getting close, although we’re at the point where we’re fine-tuning all the little bits and pieces,” Dunn said. “So we’re looking to be done by end of August, middle of September.”

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