OSC shows that it is possible to build a net-zero urban high-rise building that uses only renewable energy produced on-site.
Photo courtesy City of Portland, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
Water flowing through the Center will follow natural patterns of the local hydrological cycle. Only rainwater that falls on-site will be used, treated within the building, and filtered into local aquifers.
A Living Building
Environmental Performance, Realized
OSC is a forceful response to the mounting challenges of climate change and ecological degradation, set in an urban landscape that is ripe for practical and replicable solutions. It highlights the importance of buildings and their corresponding infrastructure as a central element of urban sustainability by combining advanced technology, integrated systems, and innovative operations management.
OSC will use only non-toxic, resource-wise, locally sourced and healthy materials, creating a healthy and productive indoor environment to nourish its occupants. No carbon emissions will emanate from the building, which will adhere to the strict standards of net-zero energy and water performance.
OSC’s operations management includes supporting tenants to reduce emissions through everyday choices in resource use. This simple solution can be replicated, immediately, in buildings new and old — presenting a profound paradigm shift for building resource use.
In 2009, OSC’s design team studied the feasibility of these plans. They found that building OSC to achieve its lofty environmental goals is attainable – creating one of the highest performing building in the world, on a scale that is unprecedented.
Energy
Passive systems are the backbone of the Center’s design, capitalizing on natural systems like solar orientation, thermal mass, and heat transfer. The Center will provide 100% of its energy from within an area smaller than a single city block. Four types of photovoltaics, including panels that cover the roof, the canopies, and integrate into the skin and sunshades of the building, will be used to generate all of the building’s electricity.
With reductions made through design and technology, the largest energy uses left to address are rooted in tenant behavior. Sensors throughout the building will be able to take stock of energy use on an individual level, keeping track of typically “unregulated” plug loads like task lighting and small appliances. Able to see how they use—and waste—energy, tenants can more closely manage their personal energy use.
Smart design coupled with tenant awareness and behavior is anticipated to push energy use reduction to more than 70% below that of a typical office building.
Water
The roofs and canopies of the Center will funnel rain water into a 200,000-gallon storage tank in the basement, enough to provide for the building throughout the dry season. Treated graywater will replace potable water in most systems in the building including flushing toilets, irrigation, or cooling mechanical equipment.
Wastewater coming from toilets, known as blackwater, is not as easily treated or reused. The Center will use an intense biological wastewater treatment system to clean blackwater’s higher level of contamination, a system that mimics the cleaning and filtering processes found in nature.The Center’s biological wastewater treatment system will look like a garden. Once treated, the water will be reused as graywater or returned to the ground.
All excess water—whether treated wastewater or surplus rainfall—will find its way back into the ground on-site or nearby. Water will infiltrate into the ground naturally through porous surfaces, a groundwater recirculation system under the building, and a green street next to the building.
