We now live in a time when modern buildings can create their own energy, treat their own waste water, and be constructed of entirely sustainable and non-toxic biomimetic materials. The possibility for actually living in a world where every building, development or new neighborhood designed and built contributes to a truly sustainable lifestyle is here.
The Living Building Challenge was created by the Cascadia Green Building Council and is managed by their counterpart the International Living Building Institute.
Living Building Challenge Imperatives
The latest version has 20 prerequisites (called imperatives) and no credits, so it's both simple and extremely difficult. The imperatives require a Living Building to be net-zero energy, treat 100% of its waste water on site, for example. Projects also cannot use "Red List" chemicals, such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), mercury, conventional treated wood or formaldehyde, a very tough proposition. For example most plumbing in the US is PVC piping. Alternatives are either not readily available or very expensive - such as copper piping which would be exorbitant for a large building.
That may be why the first three Living Buildings (certified under version 1.3) include a school, a sustainability center and a residence. Building innovation often starts in the public, non-profit and residential building sectors. Private developers and corporations are usually more tentative when it comes to new strategies and "unproven" technologies. And for most business, three Living Buildings won't likely be perceived as "proof" enough. These projects do offer a glimpse of the future and of what's possible right now, using available technologies and a ton of tenacity.
Living Building Certified Building 1: The Omega Center for Sustainable Living
The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) is a conference and educational building located in Rheinbeck, New York. Instead of replacing an old, failing septic system, the Omega Center conceived an addition to their campus that would treat their waste water, as well as create additional program space. The OCSL uses geothermal heating and cooling, daylighting and passive solar design plus solar panels to generate all the power the building uses. This has been documented over a 1-year period, as required to earn their Living Building designation.
Living Building Certified Building 2: The Tyson Research Center
Another case of double duty, Washington University's new research satellite building, the Tyson Research Center provides classrooms while also serving as a teaching tool. Meeting the Living Building standards takes a lot of time, more than standard projects, particularly during design and for post-occupancy monitoring. Kevin G. Smith, Associate Director, Tyson Research Center commented on the extraordinary level of effort, "From design and construction through over 16 months of commissioning and performance monitoring, achieving this goal required the full dedication of everyone involved in the project." The project's energy, like the OCSL, also comes from solar panels and you can view the power outputs in real time on the Tyson Research Center website.
Living Building Certified Petal:Eco Sense
The Eco Sense home earned partial "Petal" awards for achieving the requirements in 4 of the 6 areas. Owners Ann and Gord Baird set up to build a multi-generation home, and created a sustainable destination. As a structural cob home with solar and wind power, rainwater harvesting, gray water re-use and a green roof, this Victoria, BC home is an eco-destination! The project incorporates Site, Water, Health & Beauty Living requirements; the remaining categories are Energy and Materials. (A seventh petal Equity was added in version 2.0, launched in 2009.)
Living Buildings = Living Proof
Living Building awards are made based on one year of operational data. So, unlike other green building rating systems (LEED, Green Globes), a building is judged on its actual performance, not on design calculations which can vary greatly from actual operations. These projects didn't just say they are green, they had to prove it to attain the highest rating bar available in the world. Now the only question is, who's next?