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Alex Wilson calls Bullitt Center "one of the most important commercial buildings of the past 50 years" May 23, 2013 Treehugger: We have admired the Bullitt Center from afar, and wondered about the claim that it was the greenest building in the world. Now Alex Wilson of BuildingGreen tours it and concludes that it probably is.
This Green Building Sets A High Bar For The Rest Of America May 02, 2013 Environmental Defense Fund: On Earth Day this year, The Bullitt Center opened its doors in Seattle, Washington. The six-story building is being hailed as the greenest commercial building in the world.
Bullitt Center Called ‘Greenest Building’ On Earth Day Apr 24, 2013 Earth Techling: On an uncharacteristically sunny and warm April day in Seattle, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new Bullitt Center, which is being called the “greenest commercial building” in the world. While this moniker is debatable, some hyperbole can be forgiven as it was April 22, Earth Day 2013, with one of Earth Day’s early organizers, Denis Hayes, in attendance.
Take a tour inside the world's greenest office building Apr 12, 2013 KOMO TV: SEATTLE -- The world's greenest office building will be unveiled in Seattle later this month, but KOMO News got an inside look at the future of the workplace.
How to Build a Greener Office Building Apr 10, 2013 Popular Mechanics: Seattle's new Bullitt Center—which will house eco-conscious tenants such as the International Living Future Institutue and the University of Washington Integrated Design Lab—is the brainchild of Bullitt Foundation president Denis Hayes.
A Building Not Just Green, but Practically Self-Sustaining Apr 03, 2013 New York Times: When an office building here that bills itself as the world’s greenest officially opens later this month, it will present itself as a “living building zoo,” with docents leading tours and smartphone-wielding tourists able to scan bar codes to learn about the artfully exposed mechanical and electrical systems.
Editorial notebook: The Bullitt Center — sustainable or bust | Opinion Northwest Mar 15, 2013 The Seattle Times: The new Bullitt Center, with its sleek, gray facade and giant solar-paneled roof, aims to be the Prius of green building design. The structure certainly provokes those who walk through its doors to think about the environment and our consumption habits.
First Look at the Bullitt Center Mar 11, 2013 Capitol Hill Seattle Blog: The intertwined worlds of design, architecture and sustainability are ready to welcome to theBullitt Center to the planet. You can be part of the Earth Day party to celebrate its arrival.
The World’s Greenest Commercial Building Now Leasing for Spring 2013 Opening Mar 05, 2013 Jetson Green: Seattle’s Bullitt Center, a project of the Bullitt Foundation, has been designed to take the spot as the most energy efficient commercial building on the planet and put Seattle on “the forefront of the green building movement,” according to the project’s website.
Tenants for Bullitt Center must think green Mar 03, 2013 The Seattle Times: Tenants who want to lease space at what’s probably the greenest office building in the world have to do more than promise to pay their rent on time.
Bullitt neighbor seeks a green distinction of its own Feb 28, 2013 Daily Journal of Commerce: A formerly underused and largely forgotten pocket park in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood finds itself in the epicenter of the green building movement.
Biting the Bullitt Center Feb 19, 2013 Sustainable Industries Journal: In the second half of Sustainable Industries' one-on-one Q&A with ecosystem services expert Kevin Halsey, our interview subject gets specific about ecosystem services in the built environment through the lens of Seattle’s celebrated Bullitt Center, a candidate to meet the rigorous Living Building Challenge – not to mention it's self-proclaimed status as the "greenest commercial building in the world."
Greener on the other side Jan 28, 2013 The Daily of the University of Washington: While its official opening is nearly three months away, the Bullitt Center is already being dubbed the greenest commercial building in the world, and the UW Integrated Design Laboratory is getting in on the ground floor, literally.
The Bullitt building follows nature's lead in elegant efficiency Jan 25, 2013 Seattle Times - Pacific Northwest Magazine: CITIES BEHAVE so much like living organisms that it is time to begin thinking of them as such. They consume oxygen, water, fuel and other natural resources, and burp out the waste. They have circulatory systems and neural pathways and at least a reptilian sort of brain to provide governing impulses. They struggle with diseases, social and physical, and sometimes they grow and prosper and sometimes they die.
RSF Influences New High Performance Buildings Jan 24, 2013 NREL Newsroom: The Research Support Facility (RSF) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has hosted thousands of visitors since it opened as one of the world's largest high performance office buildings. Generating buzz about the energy savings possible in commercial buildings is exactly what DOE and NREL have been aiming for.
9 to 5 Just Got a Whole Lot Cooler: Seattle Unveils the World’s Greenest Office Building Jan 22, 2013 Take Part: I’m always skeptical when I hear the phrase “in the world” attached to any description. But it really is unmistakably accurate to say that the Bullitt Center, opening this month in Seattle, will be the greenest office building in the world.
Seattle Architects Design First U.S. Office Building Without A Carbon Footprint, Break The Law While Doing So Jan 22, 2013 Architizer Blog: When the Bullitt Center opens in Seattle in April, this all-renewables net-zero powerhouse designed by Miller Hull will be able to sustain itself rain and shine.
Seattle’s Ultra-Green Bullitt Center To Open Earth Day Jan 19, 2013 Earth Techling: When you’re billed as the “World’s Greenest Office Building” for more than a year before you’ve finished construction, you’d better make a big entrance. The Seattle-based environmental organization known as The Bullitt Foundation has taken up the challenge by announcing that the grand opening for its new Bullitt Center will take place on April 22, Earth Day.
Seattle's New Bullitt Center May Be the Greenest Office Building Ever Jan 14, 2013 Good: The new Bullitt Center, currently under construction in Seattle, combines virtually every possible green building technique.
Building Our Energy Future Jan 11, 2013 The Motley Fool: Most days I use this space to extol the virtues of companies that bring our energy from the ground to the market, the companies that help power our country with oil and gas. These businesses are necessary, but without a doubt, the key to our energy future is to use less of it, and make what energy we do use, do more.
The Greenest Office Building in the World is About to Open in Seattle Jan 11, 2013 Fast Company: The Bullitt Center is made from totally clean materials, has composting toilets, and catches enough rainwater to survive a 100-day drought. And it’s 100% solar-powered, in a city not known for its sunny days.
Special Section: The Bullitt Center Nov 29, 2012 Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce: The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce develops a special section about the Bullitt Center.
The Seattle Sun is Going to Power This Office Building Oct 29, 2012 Curbed Seattle: Capturing rains to flush the toilets? Makes sense here in Seattle. But relying on sunlight to power and light the offices in the new Bullitt Center that's going up on Capitol Hill?
With a few more months to go, take a look at Capitol Hill's ultra-green Bullitt Center Oct 23, 2012 CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog: With a few more months to go, take a look at Capitol Hill's ultra-green Bullitt Center
City Stream: Paving the Way Sep 27, 2012 Seattle Channel: Seattle Channel's Angela King explores the Capitol Hill Eco-District, including the Bullitt Center.
Bullitt Foundation starts lease talks for 'living building' Aug 23, 2012 Puget Sound Business Journal: The Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation has started negotiating leasing agreements with potential tenants in its new building, which is being touted as the greenest building in the world.
This is not your grandfather's heavy timber structure Aug 17, 2012 Daily Journal of Commerce: The last few months have been busy at the Bullitt Center construction site on Madison Street, with structural, glazing, mechanical and other systems taking shape.
Here's To Your Health Jul 30, 2012 Green Source: Green infrastructure serving walkable, mixed-use communiities; benign construction materials; durable, day-lit buildings; renewable energy. These are ingrediencts in a familiar prescription for a more sustainable built environment. What the design community now realizes is that it's also a prescription for better public health.
The greenest commercial building on earth rises in Seattle Jul 23, 2012 Crosscut: When EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson visited Seattle last month for a talk at UW’s graduation, there was one visit she and her staff weren’t interested in promoting.
Seattle’s Silver Bullitt: A New Office Building Goes Ultra-Green Jun 20, 2012 TIME: For a six-story, 50,000 sq. ft. building to function completely off the grid, its tenants will need to get used to taking the stairs and using composting toilets.
Living Building Challenge announced as winner of 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Jun 11, 2012 World Architecture News.com: Each year, the Buckminster Fuller Institute celebrates a holistic initiative that has ‘potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems’ and over this past weekend announced its 2012 winner of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge: The Living Building Challenge (LBC).
Beyond Sustainability Jun 01, 2012 Construction Today: The Bullitt Center in Seattle is designed to serve as a model of self-sufficiency
Structures: New Bullitt Center strives to show what ‘green’ can be Jun 01, 2012 Puget Sound Business Journal: The quest to create the world’s greenest building has been full of challenges, but Bullitt Foundation leaders knew that when they planned the foundation’s new $30 million headquarters on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
President of Bulgaria visits the Bullitt Center May 17, 2012 Puget Sound Business Journal: Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev was in Seattle this week on a special stop before a NATO Summit next week in Chicago. “It’s a wonderful city,” Plevneliev said. “My first impression about the city isn’t actually about the buildings and the beautiful sites, it’s about people. There was so (how should I say) positive energy shown. I’m impressed.”
Act Different Apr 22, 2012 Huffington Post: In a famous ad, Apple asked people to "Think Different." We are now at a point in the natural history of the planet when it is essential to act different. There is no better time to begin than on Earth Day.
Earth Day revisited: An environmental patriarch on keeping the dream alive Apr 18, 2012 Grist: Denis Hayes is about the last person on the planet you’d expect to find walking around a construction site in a hardhat, chatting up engineers and contractors. Hayes is best known as the guy who coordinated the first Earth Day, back in 1970, when he was 25. Since that time, he has earned a reputation as a fierce defender of the environment, raking in every imaginable green accolade. Today, he is honorary chair of the Earth Day Network by night and by day, president and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, a major force in conservation in the Northwest.
Bullitt Foundation shifts its focus to urban scene Apr 13, 2012 Puget Sound Business Journal: For the 60-year-old Bullitt Foundation, saving the environment isn’t just about oceans and forests anymore. The pioneering environmental philanthropy has narrowed its mission and money over the past three years from protecting nature to creating sustainable urban centers — a focus embodied in its $30 million ecological showcase of a headquarters rising atop Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
Are you up for the Living Building Challenge? Apr 13, 2012 San Diego Daily Transcript: Professionals in the building and real estate industries are being encouraged to embrace the Living Building Challenge by imagining and creating “buildings that generate all of their own energy with renewable resources … a city block or a college campus that shares resources from building to building, growing food and functioning without a dependency on fossil fuel-based transportation … true sustainability in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, villages, towns and cities.”
Green road to Chongqing Mar 30, 2012 China Daily: When US President Richard Nixon made his historic trip to China on a Boeing jet in 1972, little did the Seattle-based aircraft maker know that it would soon be a key player in trade ties. Over the years, aircraft, spacecraft and spare parts have been Seattle's largest exports to China. But if Mike McGinn, the mayor of Seattle, has his way, the pride of place would soon be taken by the city's green exports to China.
Could this $30 million green tower be the future of world cities? Mar 21, 2012 MSNBC.com: An office building that lasts 250 years with no monthly electricity or water bills? It may sound like an environmentalist’s pipe dream, but it will soon be a reality, say the builders of what they hope will be the biggest office tower in the nation that produces as much water and electricity as it consumes.
Green is Naturally Beautiful Mar 20, 2012 Arcade: The Living Building Challenge is a bold, new certification program that tests green buildings against the most rigorous performance standards in the world. A building cannot receive full certification until it has operated at demanding levels for at least one year. Much attention has been directed to the energy, water and materials criteria of the Challenge; these are objective characteristics that can be measured and counted. However, I want to focus on an equally critical part of the LBC test – “beauty” – and the central role it plays in green building design.
'Living Buildings' : What we've learned so far Feb 23, 2012 Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce: Two net-zero energy buildings show it takes time to see if new buildings meet expectations.
Big Ideas for 2012 Dec 30, 2011 Success Magazine: Forget ordinary green buildings. “Living buildings” goes way beyond.
Back to the future Nov 16, 2011 Green Architecture Notes: 41 years ago Denis Hayes, a young activist with a vision for a post-carbon energy future, organized the first Earth Day. That day of celebration and teach-ins was my first realization of how the resource flows through buildings impact the land, air and water.
Portland, Seattle Duke It Out For World's Most Nature-Inspired Building Oct 19, 2011 Fast Company: The Living Building Standard--which requires buildings to create all their own energy and recycle all their own water--is so hard to meet that only three buildings are "living buildings." Two, in the Pacific Northwest, are vying for the title of world's most sustainable.
The Self-Sufficient Office Building Oct 11, 2011 The New York Times: One of the most highly anticipated development projects in the Pacific Northwest is still little more than a grid of concrete and rebar at the edge of the Capitol Hill neighborhood here. When completed near the end of next year, though, the six-story office building may be the greenest commercial structure in the world.
Bullitt Center in Seattle Redefines “Living City”: The Guardian Oct 03, 2011 greengopost.com: My latest article on Guardian Sustainable Business touts the Miller Hull Partnership’s work on the Bullitt Center in Seattle. With its goals to be off of the water grid, carbon neutral, and composting of all of its sewage, the Bullitt Foundation’s future home could redefine our definition of “green building.”
Seattle's Bullitt Center is set to push the boundaries of green building Sep 30, 2011 Guardian Professional Network: With a 250-year lifecycle, water and energy self-sufficiency and its own sewage plant, is this building the vision of the future? Six storeys tall with 52,000 square feet (4,830 square meters) of office space, the Bullitt Center, the construction of which began on 29 August, promises to be a carbon-neutral energy and net-zero water building. And that is only the start, as the Bullitt Center and its architects, The Miller Hull Partnership, reach far and beyond the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification process that has become the standard in the United States. In fact, according to Brian Court of Miller Hull, the firm will not even pursue LEED certification.
The 2011 Evergreen Awards On the Boards Winner Sep 19, 2011 eco-structure: Designing a building to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge (LBC) means taking the concept of green building to the next level. Living Buildings must meet performance standards in seven “petals”—Site, Water, Energy, Health, Materials, Equity, and Beauty—and each petal is subdivided into a number of imperatives. The designers of Seattle’s Bullitt Center also are taking the LBC to a new level in terms of scale: They are now constructing what is expected to be the first multistory urban development in the world to attempt Living Building certification. Upon completion in fall 2012, the six-story Bullitt Center (formerly the Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction) should be the greenest office building in the world, according to the architect, Seattle-based Miller Hull Partnership.
CHS Pics | Ceremony marks start of Bullitt Center construction, 'bending old rules' Aug 30, 2011 CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog: Calling the project a "harbinger of a new era" and drawing comparisons to the Anasazi pueblos, Istanbul's Hagia Sofia, the development of the flying buttress and erection of the first steel skyscrapers, Bullitt Foundation president and CEO Denis Hayes made it clear Monday August 29 that he believes the start of construction on the $30 million Bullitt Center at 15th and Madison was a historic moment for Seattle.
Developer Aims For Greenest Commercial Building In The World Aug 30, 2011 KUOW.org: A building that its owners hope will be the "greenest commercial building in the world" broke ground yesterday in Seattle. The Bullitt Center will be a six story, 45,000 square foot office building in the city's Central District. It aims to achieve one of the highest sustainability ratings in the world: so–called living building status. KUOW's Deborah Wang has the story.
Video - Denis Hayes on the Bullitt Foundation's New Green Building Aug 30, 2011 The Seattle Times - Media Center: Construction has started on the Bullitt Center, which will be one of the world's greenest and most energy efficient commercial buildings in the world.
In Seattle, work starts on 'greenest' office building Aug 29, 2011 Los Angeles Times: The Bullitt Center is billed as the first commercial building designed to carry its own environmental weight. It'll be six stories, but expectations are sky-high.
Crews break ground on 'greenest building in the world' Aug 29, 2011 KOMOnews.com: There's no shortage of companies or organizations focusing on environmental issues, but the new Bullitt Center will be different in that it will truly practice what its inhabitants preach.
Ultra-green office building breaking ground Aug 28, 2011 The Seattle Times: The Bullitt Center on Capitol Hill will set a new standard for green development. The building will generate as much energy as it consumes.
King 5 News Interviews Denis Hayes on "The Most Energy Efficient Building in the World" - Video Jul 23, 2011 King 5 News: Bullitt Foundation President Denis Hayes was interviewed on King 5 news on July 22, 2011. The video documents early construction of the future Bullitt Center and describes what will make it the "Most Energy Efficient Building in the World."
Project team releases energy information for Bullitt Center Jun 16, 2011 Daily Journal of Commerce: This week, the Bullitt Foundation's Bullitt Center released a report detailing its energy performance metrics. For all you energy nerds out there, this is a pretty exciting development.
Madison's Bullitt Center drops solar array from design as it charts new permitting path Jun 02, 2011 CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog: When you propose a 75-foot building covered in solar panels that intends to handle all its energy, water and waste needs on-site, your city may not have a permitting and design review process spelled out and ready to fit your project. As planning for the Bullitt Center moves forward, the project has at times needed to create its own path through the city process.
Green Wars: Two 'Living Buildings' Battle for Sustainable Supremacy May 17, 2011 Time: In the sustainability game, two proposed multi-story “living buildings” take sustainability to the urban environments of Portland and Seattle. And they outdo one another in the process with their triple net-zero—energy, water and waste—goals.
A final design for new Bullitt HQ May 10, 2011 Daily Journal of Commerce: Solar panels had been planned for the southwest side in earlier designs, but they have been removed because it was not something other buildings would likely repeat.
Bullitt Center hopes to be the world’s greenest commercial building May 07, 2011 Contractor Magazine: SEATTLE — For Denis Hayes, president and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, the best way to advance a cause is by pushing the envelope. The Bullitt center, slated for completion before the end of the year, is what he calls, “A bold attempt to do everything right.”
Bullitt 'green building' gets go-ahead Apr 12, 2011 Seattle Times: A Seattle hearing examiner has upheld key city permits for the Bullitt Foundation's proposed office building on East Madison Street, touted as Seattle's greenest commercial building ever.
Bullitt Center can make Seattle a green-building leader Mar 28, 2011 Crosscut.com: The world’s greenest, most energy-efficient office building is taking root in Seattle. And while the project will deliver a wide array of environmental benefits, it will also increase knowledge and create positive economic impacts that are equally significant for the people of Seattle and beyond.
World Water Day Photos: Water-Savvy Cities Mar 22, 2011 National Geographic: Future cities experts describe Seattle as a water policy and technology incubator.
Bullitt Foundation's 'green' office building gets key permit from city Jan 04, 2011 Seattle Times: City planners have approved a key permit for a six-story office building designed to be Seattle's greenest building ever.
DOE Awards $21M in Technical Services for Energy Efficiency Dec 08, 2010 Smart Planet: Bullitt Center eligible for grants of services from US Department of Energy.
Bullitt tweaks plans for living building headquarters Nov 15, 2010 Daily Journal of Commerce: The Bullitt Center will likely have its last design review meeting on November 17, 2010.
Most Influential: Partners on the Bullitt Center Nov 01, 2010 Seattle Magazine: Partners Miller Hull Partnership, Point 32, Schuchart, and The Bullitt Foundation collaborate to develop The Bullitt Center
Performance-Based Design Aug 18, 2010 Rethink Energy and Design by BetterBricks: The Bullitt Center strives to be the first of its kind: an urban mid-rise Living Building. The vision of the Bullitt Foundation and its director, Denis Hayes, is to develop a game-changing place that creates a ripple effect to change the way designers, cities, and occupants think about their buildings.
The Bullitt Foundation’s Living Building Mar 19, 2010 Publicola.com: Plans for the Bullitt Foundation’s Bullit Center were presented to the City of Seattle’s Design Review Board, and the innovative project garnered front page attention from the Seattle Times.
Rain, even urine, would help make Bullitt HQ city's 'greenest building ever' Mar 15, 2010 Seattle Times: The Bullitt Foundation plans to build Seattle's greenest building ever, a six-story structure generating as much electricity as it consumes and relying almost exclusively on rain for its water.

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