Representatives from Oregon’s leading design firms, environmental organizations, and academic
institutions collaborate with national and global experts at OSC’s eco-charrette.
Photo courtesy Oregon State University
Oregon Innovation
A Living Laboratory
OSC is a living, breathing, and working building, where 725 office tenants and 1,400 students and faculty will use the conference center, classrooms and offices. Joined by dozens to hundreds of visitors, their presence will ensure the delivery of real-world information in studies conducted at OSC.
A robust research agenda will maximize OSC’s experimental opportunities. Already, researchers across the Oregon University System and beyond are developing questions around five major research themes:
- Net-zero energy building technologies and strategies
- Water use and rainwater retention
- Material utilization, waste and life cycle environmental impacts
- Occupant health and performance
- Integrated performance-based design, construction and operations
OSC will create a solid connection between its research agenda and the businesses that can turn research into marketable products and services. The five themes span industry sectors that are strong and growing in Oregon, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green building. These sectors have strong support from state and local governments. In OSC, they have the opportunity to prove their products in a real-world environment.
The Center will also be a model for coordination among community colleges, Oregon University System institutions and training entities. With a host of technologies on-site – from biological wastewater treatment systems to solar panels – OSC provides an optimal setting for hands-on green job training.
A Center for Northwest Innovation
Housed at OSC, a new center for northwest innovation will focus on community development and job creation that actively bridges urban and rural issues. It will bring together business and community leaders with representatives from relevant federal, state and local agencies. The center will take lessons learned in the Pacific Northwest about how to collaboratively build sustainable communities, expand them, and scale them up for replication nationwide.
With a unique public-private approach, the center’s representatives will work together under one roof to deliver rapid results in a number of cross-cutting issue areas, including:
- Sustainable infrastructure
- Green buildings and retrofits
- Food systems
- Ecosystem service markets and natural systems
Growing the Green Economy
The Oregon Sustainability Center will be an engine for the green economy in Oregon.
Its design and construction will immediately create more than 1300 jobs in sectors as diverse as engineering, semi-conductor manufacturing and finance. More important, these 1,300 workers will gain first-hand experience working on an innovative prototype building. Their new skills will collectively create a base of specialized knowledge in the region—one that will grow in demand as green development becomes the standard.
Companies, too, benefit from OSC’s cutting edge construction. To meet the Living Building Challenge™, OSC’s building materials must come from within the region and must not contain “red-listed” chemicals often common to building—like PVC. With the support of local and state governments and academic institutions, Oregon companies can eliminate toxic ingredients from their products to serve the market that OSC is helping to create.
Exploring Oregon’s Innovations
OSC envisions an unforgettable experience for visitors, students, and delegations. Located in OSC’s first floor lobby, a 3,000 square foot exhibit center will be a home base and launching pad for regional debate and action. Interactive exhibits will let visitors uncover the stories of Oregon’s businesses, policy makers, and citizens’ contributions to the region’s leadership in sustainability. The exhibit center will serve as a starting point for self guided tours of OSC’s sustainability features.
First Stop Portland, a program of Portland State University’s Institute for Metropolitan Studies, provides planning and logistical support for visiting delegations that want to learn from Portland’s sustainability leadership. With a prime location at OSC, First Stop will promote business-to-business exchange and peer networking with global delegations right in the heart of Oregon’s sustainability activity.
