PAE Living Building Challenge Office

Project Description

Located less than two blocks from the Willamette River, a five-story, mixed-use structure planned for Portland, Oregon’s Old Town Historic neighborhood is poised to become  the first developer-driven and largest commercial urban Living Building in the world. Designed by ZGF Architects and PAE Consulting Engineers—a future occupant of the building—the 58,700-square foot structure will produce 105 percent of its energy needs and meet its potable water needs from harvested rain and internal water recycling. The project also aims to become the first office building in North America to produce fertilizer from captured high strength waste onsite (urine and compost leachate).

A key member of the integrated design team, Biohabitats engineered the building’s water and waste infrastructure, which includes onsite systems for harvesting rainwater for potable water supply, greywater treatment for reuse in toilet flushing and irrigation, and nutrient recovery. The nutrient recovery system turns high strength waste into retail grade fertilizer. The building includes 20 composting bins to manage toilet waste and a 71,000-gallon cistern.

In addition to supporting the project’s pursuit of the LBCs stringent Water Petal, the water infrastructure contributes to the building’s positive impact on Willamette River Watershed and the broader regional ecology.