Mahlum Architects creates first Living Building Challenge-certified building in Portland for itself
When Pacific Northwest architecture firm Mahlum set out to design its new Portland, Oregon headquarters, one question the firm asked itself was whether it was willing to “walk the walk” with regards to environmental sustainability. The firm’s response, as its newly completed Living Building Challenge (LBC) offices can attest, was an enthusiastic “yes!” View into the studio’s open office area. Photo courtesy of Lincoln Barbour. The LBC certification system, for the uninitiated, is widely considered as the “most rigorous sustainable building program in the world,” and offers up a variety of approaches for achieving a “symbiotic relationship between people and all aspects of the built environment,” according to the architects. Administered by the Living Building Futures Institute, LBC is billed as “a philosophy first, an advocacy tool second, and a certification program third.” Codified by a list of 20 “imperatives” organized according to thematic “petal” categories, the system focus...
When Pacific Northwest architecture firm Mahlum set out to design its new Portland, Oregon headquarters, one question the firm asked itself was whether it was willing to “walk the walk” with regards to environmental sustainability.
The firm’s response, as its newly completed Living Building Challenge (LBC) offices can attest, was an enthusiastic “yes!”
The LBC certification system, for the uninitiated, is widely considered as the “most rigorous sustainable building program in the world,” and offers up a variety of approaches for achieving a “symbiotic relationship between people and all aspects of the built environment,” according to the architects. Administered by the Living Building Futures Institute, LBC is billed as “a philosophy first, an advocacy tool second, and a certification program third.” Codified by a list of 20 “imperatives” organized according to thematic “petal” categories, the system focus...
