Cities and regions across the globe continually woo certain industries, especially in the technology sector. They are hungry for the potential revenue generated from the resulting influx of well paid, highly educated talent. However, all too often people forget about the potential negative impact resulting from rapid, unfettered development. The state of affairs in cities in India and China today is only an example of the negative impact of building a high-tech economy. The resulting ecological and environmental impact can, over the long term, negate many of the advances that may be made by all the investment, eventually driving away new capital spending. Communities are increasingly facing up to the reality that investing in the technology industry means more than just putting dollars into building new facilities and condominiums. Seattle is setting an example for responsibility, vision and leadership for a sustainable future. The city is building a community where people and technology can thrive together.
The South Lake Union area of Seattle is undergoing a significant transformation that will make South Lake Union a thriving life science and urban community. Walking along the lake, it is impossible not to notice the shells of mixed use green condos and high-end retail spaces that are set to coincide with biotech buildings, such as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, one of the largest and many leading life science research centers in the area. In the past, the development of such a technology corridor would have resulted in the building of aesthetically pleasing, but poorly planned buildings (and still might). Fortunately, it appears that this development boom includes an effort to ensure that the new facilities satisfy sustainable development requirements. An example with emphasis on building eco-friendly cost effective laboratories and buildings can be found at the facilities of the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI), a non-profit organization focused on global infectious disease research.
The US Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, a nationally recognized benchmark for the design and construction of sustainable buildings is one of the eco-friendly implementations of South Lake Union. The SBRI building on Westlake Ave is a silver-level LEED-certified core-and-shell lab building, the nations first. The building bears all the hallmarks of modern sustainable construction, featuring an exterior built with recyclable materials where possible, non-toxic building materials, water and energy conservation, and recycled construction waste. However, there is more to it than the materials used, and it goes further than just one building. As new laboratories are built, the entire process of planning should take a long term view, for its residents, for the community, and for the environment. Projects like the SBRI building are just the start.
The builders of SBRI have developed a prototype for an eco-friendly sustainable biotech lab, one that could set the standards for other biotech parks as they are built around the world. The GreenLab, as it has been labeled, would be located in South Lake Union, and has some lofty goals, including the reduction of energy consumption by 50% compared to similar buildings. The SBRI building and GreenLab are not the only examples of Seattle's green biotech construction efforts. The 9th and Stewart Life Science building, features a plethora of natural lighting, a number of energy efficient amenities, and plenty of recycled materials. While other cities choose to build technology parks on the outskirts of the city, the ability to meet sustainability standards means that a city like Seattle can carry out development efforts that permit technology centers to mix well with retail establishments and other normal trappings of a successful urban environment.
With such powerful figures as Paul Allen and Bill Gates involved in the life science boom in the heart of Seattle, the city can, and should, try to serve as a model for the rest of the world as an environmentally responsible technology hub. Seattle thus far is proving biotech, a word that often conjures up negative images in the mind of environmentalists, can actually drive sustainable development in a modern urban setting.
Further reading:
South Lake Union - Wikipedia entry
SBRI - LEED press release
Biotech developers are going green
New life sciences building downtown is certifiably "green"
Green Building: The view from here
Aircuity, Inc - The GreenLab project
