The engineering firm McKinstry, in partnership with energy provider Avista, has been a driving force behind the development and construction of what is being touted as one of the biggest zero-energy, zero-carbon facilities in the world.
Catalyst is a five-story 159,000-sf anchor building for a planned innovation center that will connect—via the under-construction Gateway Bridge—to the University District in Spokane, Wash. Catalyst’s construction includes 4,000 cubic meters (141,200 cubic feet) of cross-laminated timber and glulam products, which would store an estimated 3,713 metric tons of carbon dioxide and avoid 1,437 metric tons of carbon emissions. That would be the equivalent of taking 1,100 cars off the road for a year.
The McKinstry-Avista partnership is called South Landing Investors LLC, which is this project’s primary investor. McKinstry is the project’s developer and is providing design-build services. Katerra, Catalyst’s general contractor, is sourcing the engineered wood from its new Spokane Valley CLT factory. Katerra’s Michael Green Architecture designed the building. KPFF is its structural engineer.
McKinstry—which is also handling the mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, and electrical engineering—is working with the Living Future Institute to validate Catalyst’s zero-energy status. As currently designed, no fossil fuels will be combusted on site, with additional carbon sequestration efforts in play to offset emissions from natural gas ovens and other end-user appliances.
Eastern Washington University is leasing 57,000 sf to move its STEM program into Catalyst. Image: McKiinstry
Catalyst is on track to open in April 2020. It will monitor its operational efficiency via smart building management systems, thousands of IoT sensors, and data visualization driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence. The entire hub is also being developed to be delivered at market cost to ensure that it creates a replicable model. (An Avista spokesperson told the Spokane Spokesman-Review last year that Catalyst’s construction would cost more than $50 million.)
The building would be the first in eastern Washington to be net-zero ready. Its main tenant will be Eastern Washington University, which is leasing 57,000 sf to accommodate three programs—computer science, electrical engineering, and visual communication design—that EWU is moving to Spokane from its College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Cheney, Wash. STEM is the university’s fastest-growing curriculum.
That move will include 50 faculty members and 1,000 students. Within Catalyst, EWU will offer dry labs and modern, high-tech classrooms. Space will provide immersive education opportunities via a learning, living laboratory.
Avista and Katerra will also lease office space within Catalyst, along with similar, like-minded tenants. The City of Spokane has committed $430,000 in street improvements, water services and other infrastructure for the Catalyst building.
Related Stories
| Apr 16, 2013
5 projects that profited from insulated metal panels
From an orchid-shaped visitor center to California’s largest public works project, each of these projects benefited from IMP technology.
| Apr 12, 2013
Nation's first 'food forest' planned in Seattle
Seattle's Beacon Food Forest project is transforming a seven-acre lot in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood into a self-sustaining, edible public park.
| Apr 10, 2013
23 things you need to know about charter schools
Charter schools are growing like Topsy. But don’t jump on board unless you know what you’re getting into.
| Apr 8, 2013
Most daylight harvesting schemes fall short of performance goals, says study
Analysis of daylighting control systems in 20 office and public spaces shows that while the automatic daylighting harvesting schemes are helping to reduce lighting energy, most are not achieving optimal performance, according to a new study by the Energy Center of Wisconsin.
| Apr 2, 2013
Green building consultant explores the truth about green building performance in new book
A new book from leading sustainability, green building author and expert Jerry Yudelson challenges assumptions about the value of sustainable design and environmentally-friendly buildings.
| Apr 1, 2013
Half of building owners use 'smart' technologies, says survey
A survey of 291 building owners by IDC Energy Insights shows that 50% of owners use smart building technologies, such as HVAC controls, lighting controls, and analytics/data management.
| Mar 29, 2013
Stanford researchers develop nanophotonic panel that reflects sun's heat out of the atmosphere
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanophotonic material that not only reflects sunlight, but actually beams the thermal energy out of the earth's atmosphere.
| Mar 27, 2013
Small but mighty: Berkeley public library’s net-zero gem
The Building Team for Berkeley, Calif.’s new 9,500-sf West Branch library aims to achieve net-zero—and possibly net-positive—energy performance with the help of clever passive design techniques.
| Mar 22, 2013
Earn $500 as a DOE proposal reviewer
The DOE'S Building Technologies Office this morning put out a call to the AEC industry for expert reviewers for its new energy-efficiency initiative for small commercial buildings, which make up more than 90% of the commercial building stock.
