Primary Goals

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Primary Goals

• To secure a location for Western Washington
  University to accommodate future growth
• Enhance the relationship between the Bellingham
  community and WWU
• Expand the research capabilities of Huxley
  College
• Provide Huxley students with direct experience in
  urban redevelopment and habitat restoration
• Provide a public example of low-impact site
  design that offers self-guided educational tours

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Assumptions

• The site will be rezoned to accommodate WWU
  expansion
• Some shipping and storage will continue to occur
  on-site
• Huxley College will be the primary entity on-site
• The site will be fully cleaned of all hazardous
  contaminants and materials
• All necessary shoreline and near-shore
  development permits will be granted
• All proposed systems (i.e. structural, energy,
  and water) are feasible from an engineering
  standpoint
• All associated parties are interested in
  participating and will work cooperatively

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LEED Checklist

• Created U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) 1998
• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
  Design)
• Intended to
• Offer design guidelines
• Recognize leaders
• Stimulate green competition
• Establish market value with a recognizable
  national brand
• Raise consumer awareness
• Transform the marketplace
• Provides framework / verifiable process to define
  and endorse green buildings in design and
  construction
• Organized on a point-based system of
  prerequisites / credits
• Project receives official recognition attaining a
  certain number of points
• Projects can achieve LEED Certified, Silver,
  Gold, or Platinum

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Western on the WaterfrontHuxley College Concept
and Design
Principle Authors Alejandro Bancke Annie
MatsumotoGrah Dylan Morgan Ted Olsen Jamie Theuer

• Huxley College of the Environment
• ESTU 415 Sustainable Development
• Western Washington University
• Bellingham, Washington

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Port of Bellingham Shipping Terminal Site
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Site Dimensions
18.5 acres
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Primary Goals

• To secure a location for Western Washington
  University to accommodate future growth
• Enhance the relationship between the Bellingham
  community and WWU
• Expand the research capabilities of Huxley
  College
• Provide Huxley students with direct experience in
  urban redevelopment and habitat restoration
• Provide a public example of low-impact site
  design that offers self-guided educational tours

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Secondary Goals

• Design the main Academic building to achieve Gold
  LEED certification (other buildings at least
  Certified)
• Provide a community center honoring local culture
  history, which will house a conference center
  for public/private events
• Offer public open space exceeding the citys
  requirement by at least 25

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Academic Programs

• Proximity to water provides Huxley opportunities
  for research in
• Marine ecology
• Wetlands ecology
• Environmental toxicology
• Restoration ecology

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Site Plan Description
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Academic Buildings- Main Building

• 3-story building oriented towards water contains
• Administration
• Classrooms
• Faculty offices
• Science labs
• Computer labs
• Libraries
• Sustainable Elements
• Solar panels mounted on south façades provide 50
  of electricity needs remainder of electricity
  bought from PSE Green Power Program
• Low flow water fixtures (e.g. waterless urinals)
  installed throughout building to reduce potable
  water consumption
• Terraced ecoroofs channel stormwater into water
  treatment system and reduce urban heat island
  effect
• The living machine, which treats sewage and
  wastewater on-site, is located in an atrium on
  the SW corner of the building.

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Academic Building Concept
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Living Machine

• Ecologically engineered sewage treatment plant
  that uses natural non-chemical biological systems
  to clean sewage wastewater.
• Are designed built to
• produce food
• heat / cool buildings
• treat waste
• purify air
• Capable of advanced water treatment without using
  hazardous chemicals
• Mini-ecosystems in cylindrical tanks that have
  diverse communities of bacteria, algae,
  micro-organisms, plants, tree, snails, fish, etc.
• Organisms work together to process, filter, and
  clean wastewater into a re-usable resource.
• After treatment, the wastewater is recycled
  back into greywater systems (toilets, irrigation)
  
• Located near the academic building enabling
  students and visitors to observe its operations
  in action.
• Benefits
• Provide environmentally sustainable water
  treatment system for building wastewater.
• Main energy source is sunlight
• Provides educational tool for students public
  to learn about sustainable technologies.
• Used for wetland system research

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Water Treatment System

• General Description
• Main building waste water sewage initially
  treated in the living machine auxiliary building
  waste water piped into water treatment system.
• Additional filtering and UV-screening performed
  en route to constructed wetland (secondary
  treatment).
• Spillway from wetland to restored saltwater
  estuary allows freshwater out but not saltwater
  in.

Water Treatment Concept Building to Bay
Constructed wetland
Secondary water treatment
Saltwater estuary
An exceptional opportunity for habitat
restoration!
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Academic Buildings Marine Research
FLOATING CLASSROOM CONCEPT

• One-story building contains marine research
  classrooms labs in addition to existing labs on
  main WWU campus
• Waterfront location facilitates study of the
  nearshore environment and allows marine access
  for research boats
• Floating classroom (at right) provides a dynamic
  educational tool for studying nearshore habitat
  without disturbing the restored area

(marine research bldg. located behind)
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Academic Buildings Student Support

• 2-story building located behind main building for
  easy access to services
• Admissions
• Counseling
• Registrar
• Associated Students
• Career services center
• Student eateries
• University support services will be housed in the
  student support building
• ATUS
• Human resources
• Mail services
• Publishing

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Cultural / Community Center

• 2-story community center with low impact design
  elements
• Primary functions
• To provide space for community education about
  local culture, history, and the environment
• Enhance the relationship between the Bellingham
  community and WWU
• Facilitate school and community-related
  activities in the conference center
• Provide space for display of local, Native, and
  student art

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Cultural Center Sketch
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Residential

• 2-story building next to the main academic
  building with similar low impact design elements
  as the main building
• Allows for 150 undergraduate and graduate
  students with dining amenities
• More residential development is expected in
  adjacent areas of downtown

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Open SpaceWhat is it?

• Gardens, grasses, rock formations, and water
  features, recreation
• Native plant gardens throughout the site provide
• Educational tool for plant identification
• Terrestrial ecology
• Reintroduction of vegetation into urban setting
• Opportunities for native botanical and organic
  garden design
• Other benefits
• Freshwater pond and estuary provide education on
  local ecology and habitat restoration
• Canoe, kayak and sailboat rentals near marine
  research center
• Space allotted for bay observation, kite flying,
  frisbees, etc.
• Opportunity for student and community
  interactions

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Transportation

• Roadways designed for minimal disturbance of site
  aesthetics while providing access to cars, buses
  and trucks
• Additional limited use pathways designed for
  emergency vehicle access
• Parking space limited overall design encourages
  alternative forms of transportation
• Bike and pedestrian pathways located along
  roadways and throughout site
• Bike storage facilities are located throughout
• Includes hill-assist tram from
• Marine Research Center to
• The Armory to
• WWU PAC plaza (and return)

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Green Roofs / Rooftop Gardens

• A green roof is the installation of a contained
  green space on top of a human-made structure
• Greenroof system involves
• The installation of waterproof / root repellent
  membrane,
• A drainage system
• Filter cloth
• And lightweight growing medium with plants.
• Hardy native plants (fescue grasses, sedums and
  mosses requiring little soil and drought
  tolerant
• Benefits
• Significantly reduce amounts of building
  stormwater runoff
• Reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect
• Provide additional insulation for buildings
• Can provide habitat for birds and insect species
• Greenroofs will be installed throughout our site
  plan where appropriate

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Composting Toilets

• AKA Biological Toilets
• Contain control human waste, toilet paper,
  carbon additives, and food wastes
• Contains destroys organisms (pathogens) without
  the use of harsh chemicals
• Composting toilet system is warm, well-ventilated
  container with diverse community of aerobic
  bacteria and fungi that break down wastes Unlike
  septic system this system relies on dry
  conditions
• End product is dry, fluffy, odorless compost,
  similar to well-maintained garden compost
• On average waste can be broken down to 10 to 30
  percent of original volume
• We plan to install composting toilets in
  bathrooms that are not serviced by the Living
  Machine (e.g. Cultural Center
• Benefits of a composting toilet
• Environmentally friendly waste disposal
• End product can be used as nutrient rich
  landscaping mulch

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Benefits of WWU on the Bellingham Waterfront
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Visual Connection
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Thank You