World’s First Living Building Crowned
Washington Univ. in St. Louis’ Tyson’s Living Learning Center has achieved the world’s first full certification under the Living Building Challenge run by the International Living Building Institute (ILBI).
The challenge is widely recognized as the world’s most rigorous green building performance standard.
A second building, Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, N.Y., simultaneously won full certification. A third building, Eco-Sense, a private residence in Victoria, British Columbia, was awarded partial certification.
More than 70 projects worldwide are actively pursuing Living Building certification, hoping to be the first to qualify.
Founded in 2009 by the Cascadia Green Building Council, the ILBI is a non-governmental organization dedicated to the creation of truly sustainable built environments around the world.
Launched in November 2006, the Living Building Challenge was developed by Jason McLennan, CEO of ILBI, and the Cascadia Greeen Building Council and is now managed by ILBI.
To achieve certification, a project must:
– generate all of its own energy through clean, renewable resources;
– capture and treat its own water through ecologically sound techniques;
– incorporate only nontoxic, appropriately sourced materials; and
– operate efficiently and for maximum beauty.
To achieve ‘Living’ status, all program requirements must be met and proven through a full year of operation, culminating in a third-party audit.
The goal of the challenge, according to the institute’s mission statement, is to provoke a fundamental, transformative shift in how we conceive of the built environment.
“These are quite simply the greenest projects in the world,” says McLennan in the news release announcing the awards.
“If the building industry follows the example set by these pioneering teams,” McLennan says, “we can begin healing our ecosystems and creating a future in which all life can thrive.”
“We are honored to receive such a prestigious award, which will serve as a keystone for our continuing commitment to sustainability and the environment,” Washington Univ.’s Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton says.
“The Living Learning Center is a symbol of our commitment to green building,” Wrighton says. “The nine LEED-certified buildings Washington Univ. has built in the last few years and the five others that are in the process of certification are testimony to our belief that the future must bring significant reductions in energy use. We have already announced that we intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 without purchasing carbon offsets.”
A chain of rainflowers guides rainwater from the lower roof to a rain barrel, which is tapped to water landscaping. Credit: Ralph Bicknese/Hellmuth + Bicknese
Tyson Research Center, located 20 miles southwest of WUSTL’s Danforth Campus, contains 2,000 acres of woods, prairie, ponds and savannas for faculty and students to conduct environmental research.
The Living Learning Center is a 2,900-square-foot facility that houses a computer lab, classrooms and administrative offices for the research station.
