ASHRAE's second issue of High Performing Buildings Magazine features an article on the new Seattle City Hall.
Designed by local engineering firm Wood Harbinger, the building has become a new landmark and a center for civic pride.
The article (pdf) has a very insightful section on "Perceptions and Evaluations" that examines the factors and misconceptions that contributed to the initial bad press that criticized the energy use of the building. It stresses the importance of establishing appropriate expectations and baselines when evaluating the success of a sustainable building. This section alone is worth a read since similar issues are bound to be a part of future green building projects.
As always, the HPB article describes the subject building, highlights the sustainable features, provides real data on performance and highlights lessons learned. HPB is well worth reading and is an amazing resource that ASHRAE provides free of cost!
Spring 2008 Digital HPB Issue
