habit by design: ecotrust

On Tuesday, my "sustainable construction practices" class toured the ecotrust building located in the Pearl District in Portland. The 1895 building was donated to Ecotrust by Jean Vollum in 1998. It was renovated to meet LEED Gold criteria by Walsh Construction Company and the superintendent of the project, Carrington Barrs, enthusiastically led the tour.

Walking up to the building from the West side, it's as if you are entering a secret garden tucked away in from the showy condos and brick buildings. This secret garden has a ancient ruin brick wall sheilding the rest from the busy street life. And then you step over the damp mote and walk through the stand of young cedars. When you reach the front facade, the wearing brick is sketched in time but lifted by two magnificent steel columns on each side. As you enter the warm interior, raw and rich, the wide plank floor runs right through the center, from arch to arch, the same wooden floor that the horses pulled grain carts through. The brick rises three times, like a house of cards, and large heroic beams stretch across and support the rising atrium. Light, even in the setting sun, drenches the interior, scouring away the dim. People just keep coming and going, passing and pausing, down from the stairs and waiting for tea. This is not only my secret garden but everyone's, who find a little peace.

Carrington started in the atrium, led us outside, down into the basement, up to the rooftop and down into the conference hall. There were stories for every landing both from his experience with his crew and the previous lives the building has lived. The most stunning form of sustainability is the sheer rawness of the interior and exterior but somehow it encompasses warmth and freedom. The moose head is a simple reminder that we belong in the circle of life.

One thing I learned on the tour is that UV rays are the primary reason roofs fail, this is why green roofs have such a long life span, 50 plus years, because the roof is actually never exposed to the sun. Other benefits of ecoroofs include, reduced storm water runoff, cooler ambient and storm water temperatures, greater ceiling insulation and
water filtration. All of these benefits paired with semi-permeable pavement and bioswales, rainwater slowly meanders it's way back to the Willamette River at it's historic pace, free and clear of contaminants and just as cold as the river it feeds.