[maccoinnich]

From the DJC:

Renovation on Portland federal building begins
POSTED: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 11:42 AM PT
BY: Nathalie Weinstein
Tags: Howard S. Wright

Construction began Wednesday on a $139 million renovation of the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in downtown Portland, according to Ross Buffington, spokesman for the U.S. General Services Administration.

As part of a plan to reduce energy use among its portfolio of federal buildings, the U.S. General Services Administration and Howard S. Wright Construction will begin construction to modernize the building to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum standards, the highest green building rating offered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The renovation is expected to reduce lighting energy use by 40 percent and water use by 65 percent thanks to advanced lighting systems and low-flow fixtures, Buffington said. A solar array on the building’s roof is also expected to offset 6 percent of the building’s power.

Designed by SERA Architects of Portland and Cutler Anderson Architects of Bainbridge Island, Wash., the building’s original design included a 250-foot tall living wall to shade and insulate the structure for better energy performance. Concerns over the cost and maintenance of the vegetated façade, however, led designers in August change the design to a shading system made of aluminum rods. Planters with climbing plants will be added to the base of the building, however, to shade the bottom three stories of the building.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Mayor Sam Adams planned to join the GSA at the project site at 1220 S.W. Third Ave., in Portland, to announce the start of construction at 10 a.m. Wednesday.