Success Stories: Washington State Legislative Building - Sustainability & Historic Preservation
The Washington State Legislative Building is a unique American contribution to architectural history and an outstanding example of the City Beautiful movement of early twentieth century American architecture. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and the most significant historic public building in Washington State. It serves as both a working legislative and governmental center and a symbol of Washington's free and representative government.
The Department of General Administration's rehabilitation of the Legislative Building set new standards for historic preservation and sustainability on the Capitol Campus. Washington is the first state in the nation to incorporate sustainable building practices into the rehabilitation of a state capitol building. The project demonstrated the compatibility of the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation and "LEED" Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards in design and construction. The specific methods and specifications for design and construction are being compiled for use in the department's "Campus Standards" to transfer the knowledge to other historic preservation projects on the campus.
Sustainability Innovation
The project gained national recognition for applying LEED "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" standards to the rehabilitation of Washington's Capitol. The project is in the process of documenting the challenges and opportunities of applying LEED standards to historic preservation and is working with the Green Building Council to encourage sustainable building practices on other historic preservation projects.
During construction, 85 percent of the construction waste - more than 8,000 tons of wood, concrete, paper, bricks, dirt, metal and drywall - was recycled. That is as much material as 17,000 people throw away in a year. Restored historic lighting fixtures were retrofitted for modern, energy-efficient fluorescents that use 75 percent less energy than traditional bulbs. This may save as much as 73,000 kilowatt hours of energy and $4,600 every year.
Assemblies of more than 3,400 composite wood panels and 30,000 lineal feet of 2x4 wood braces used to protect historic materials and fixtures were specifically designed to be dismantled at completion of construction, and reused to frame and sheath three new homes. Habitat for Humanity sold the wood and used the funding to build homes in Thurston County.
Non-historic toilets, sinks, light fixtures and mirrors were also donated to Habitat for Humanity. A few bathroom fixtures were also donated to the U.S. Army base of Fort Lewis in nearby Tacoma for use in setting up an urban warfare training camp.
Slabs of Alaskan "Tokeen" marble, obtained from the spare collections of Seattle's Smith Tower building and Seattle Central Community College and the state School for the Blind in Vancouver, Washington, were reused throughout the Capitol to replace marble damaged during the earthquake or to add new architectural features to match the historic ones.
Largest Solar Array on State Capitol
In partnership with Puget Sound Energy, BP and Chelan PUD, the project team created a unique opportunity to demonstrate the practical application of solar energy technology and its compatibility with historic buildings. In December 2004, the largest solar array in the nation on a state capitol building was installed. Solar panels were placed on the fifth-floor roof where they cannot be seen but can generate 20 kilowatts of energy - enough to light the dome and its lantern as a symbol of renewable energy every night of the year from dusk to midnight. On the first floor, an electronic educational kiosk was installed as part of a sustainability and renewable resources educational program for the more than 900 school children who visit the capitol each day during legislative sessions. The public/private partnership has been selected by National Association of State Facilities Administrators for recognition at the national conference in June 2005.
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