Project: Brightwater Center | Location: Woodinville, Washington | Lot ...
As the public face of the larger Brightwater System (wastewater treatment plant, conveyance and marine outfall), the LEED Platinum Brightwater Center is a place that brings people together to learn about water, energy and sustainability. In the nearly two years since it opened to the public, the Center has become the premier place in the Northwest to learn about environmental stewardship and resource conservation. Through both built and natural systems, visitors are taught how personal actions can impact the health and wellbeing of our community. The Center employs sustainable design principles including daylighting, natural ventilation, reclaimed materials and renewable energy. Using innovative systems and simple practices, energy use at the center has been reduced to levels far lower than state energy code. Functional daylighting has been provided throughout and air conditioning was eliminated by the use of concrete floors, walls and natural ventilation. In addition, the Center uses the treatment plant’s waste methane to heat water for radiant floors and domestic use. The hot water loop is shut down in summer and solar power is used for hot water at the sinks. Photovoltaic panels installed on the exterior walkway provide electricity for computers and equipment. The result is a facility completely reliant on sustainable energy sources for all space and water heating, using minimal energy for fans and louvers to cool the space, and minimizing the use of electricity for supplemental lighting and other limited needs. To provide a variety of learning spaces, the Center is split into two wings: one a large community space and exhibit hall; the other classrooms focused on laboratory-based education. Both wings are available for school children, university classes, and public and private events. Outside, education trails take visitors along a 43-acre stream restoration to see salmon spawn and through an extensively landscaped area that creates natural systems for the detention and treatment of the plant’s stormwater. At the Center, water use is reduced by low-flow fixtures and reclaimed water for toilet flushing and nighttime landscape irrigation. From reclaimed wood beams framing the walkways to public art depicting the borrowed water cycle and how we return it to nature—examples surround us of how this 100 year facility helps to protect and educate our community, and how we can all protect water quality in Puget Sound for future generations. Project: Brightwater Center | Location: Woodinville, Washington | Lot Size: 70 acres / 3,049,200 sf; Building Area: 15,000 sf
Brightwater Center is the well-integrated hub of 70 acres of public open space. Education trails take visitors into a 43-acre restored salmon habitat and through landscaped natural systems for the detention and treatment of surface stormwater, restoring site water function to a pre-developed forested state.
Site Plan The Center anchors the north end of the Brightwater Treatment Plant and is the launching point to access the hiking trails of the reforested “North 40.” A series of
landscaped berms to the west and south screen the plant from Highway 9—created to balance the cut and fill of the site.
Generous sections of glazing are protected by extensive roof overhangs to reduce solar heat gain while providing daylight, along with ample views into and out of the building. This transparency reinforces this facility as a community amenity.
Reclaimed wood frames the walkway leading to the entrance of the Center where rotating exhibits educate the next generation. “South Branch,” mounted at the south-facing entrance to the Center, is a functional piece of artwork, expressing the natural meander of water systems as it guides rainwater from the roof.
The Center treads lightly on the land and uses natural, durable materials to blend with its surroundings. Minimal glazing and deep overhangs on the west façade reduce the facility’s dependence on supplemental heating/cooling.
Low view windows and high clerestories eliminate the need for artificial lighting in the classrooms for most hours of operation. Radiant floors use reclaimed methane from the Treatment Plant to heat the spaces.
Against the play of wood and glazing of the sloping vertical planes, exposed CMU walls bracket secondary spaces, placed for their ability to provide thermal mass for passive cooling.
Brightwater Center is a laboratory and a place for gathering and education. The artwork here speaks to the microbial processes, scientific exploration and our role in the lifecycle of water.
The design of Brightwater Center is guided by a strong desire to teach about water systems and our relationship to water in the natural environment. This is expressed in every detail of the building.
The community has quickly adopted the facility—any given day high school students are jogging through the trails, elementary students are in class at Brightwater Center looking at stream water through a microscope, and retired people are walking and taking bird-watching tours.
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3 1. Entry 2. Exhibit Space 3. Community Room
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4. Kitchen 5. Hearth Room 6. Administration 7. Laboratory Classroom 8. Lab Prep
floor plans
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Section As the roof planes rise to the east, they capture warm air to be extracted by operable clerestory windows and fans. In the winter, the warm air is gently pushed back down. This integrated design approach reduces operating costs for the client.
Increase in airspeed at building ventilation outlets
Room Lighting (Shown in Yellow)
Cross Section Through Exhibit and Community Rooms in the Community Center Building
Low airspeed (
Brightwater Center is the well-integrated hub of 70 acres of public open space. Education trails take visitors into a 43-acre restored salmon habitat and through landscaped natural systems for the detention and treatment of surface stormwater, restoring site water function to a pre-developed forested state.
Site Plan The Center anchors the north end of the Brightwater Treatment Plant and is the launching point to access the hiking trails of the reforested “North 40.” A series of
landscaped berms to the west and south screen the plant from Highway 9—created to balance the cut and fill of the site.
Generous sections of glazing are protected by extensive roof overhangs to reduce solar heat gain while providing daylight, along with ample views into and out of the building. This transparency reinforces this facility as a community amenity.
Reclaimed wood frames the walkway leading to the entrance of the Center where rotating exhibits educate the next generation. “South Branch,” mounted at the south-facing entrance to the Center, is a functional piece of artwork, expressing the natural meander of water systems as it guides rainwater from the roof.
The Center treads lightly on the land and uses natural, durable materials to blend with its surroundings. Minimal glazing and deep overhangs on the west façade reduce the facility’s dependence on supplemental heating/cooling.
Low view windows and high clerestories eliminate the need for artificial lighting in the classrooms for most hours of operation. Radiant floors use reclaimed methane from the Treatment Plant to heat the spaces.
Against the play of wood and glazing of the sloping vertical planes, exposed CMU walls bracket secondary spaces, placed for their ability to provide thermal mass for passive cooling.
Brightwater Center is a laboratory and a place for gathering and education. The artwork here speaks to the microbial processes, scientific exploration and our role in the lifecycle of water.
The design of Brightwater Center is guided by a strong desire to teach about water systems and our relationship to water in the natural environment. This is expressed in every detail of the building.
The community has quickly adopted the facility—any given day high school students are jogging through the trails, elementary students are in class at Brightwater Center looking at stream water through a microscope, and retired people are walking and taking bird-watching tours.
4
2
6
7
8
1
3 1. Entry 2. Exhibit Space 3. Community Room
5
4. Kitchen 5. Hearth Room 6. Administration 7. Laboratory Classroom 8. Lab Prep
floor plans
7
Section As the roof planes rise to the east, they capture warm air to be extracted by operable clerestory windows and fans. In the winter, the warm air is gently pushed back down. This integrated design approach reduces operating costs for the client.
Increase in airspeed at building ventilation outlets
Room Lighting (Shown in Yellow)
Cross Section Through Exhibit and Community Rooms in the Community Center Building
Low airspeed (
