Spatial
Site
The Bullitt Center sits on an oddly shaped lot along Madison Street, a major east–west arterial that cuts across Seattle’s gridded street network. The site lies less than a mile and a half away from downtown and on the border of Seattle’s Capitol Hill and Central District neighborhoods.
The site selection process was focused on finding a location close to downtown with all of the natural amenities necessary to achieve the LBC goals. A number of factors made the Madison Street location very appealing to the development team. The site is zoned for a maximum height of 65 feet, while the area immediately south has height limits of only 35 feet. The difference in heights is increased by the site’s slope. Sitting on an adjacent lot is the Temple De Hirsch Sinai. The iconic building, while not a historic landmark, is unlikely to be torn down and replaced with a taller structure. As a result, the eastern, southern, and western sides of the site have unobstructed solar exposure, and the rooftop solar panels cannot be shaded by future construction unless the city enacts a change in zoning. The southern exposure creates numerous opportunities for passive heating and cooling, and the expansive views of downtown Seattle
brought about by the slope are an added bonus. In addition, the downward slope into the neighboring park created opportunities for graywater infiltration.
Another important aspect of the site is that it is accessible by a wide range of transportation options. Multiple bus lines connect it to downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. Two new rail transit lines, both less than a mile away from the site, are under construction as of early 2015, and Seattle also has various ride-sharing programs. The immediate neighborhood also is very supportive of car-sharing programs. It has a number of Zipcar stations, and Car2Go vehicles are generally offered on the streets; in addition, Seattle’s bicycle-sharing program—Pronto Cycle Share—has a station across Madison Street from the Bullitt Center. The various transportation options are crucial to the building as it has no accommodations for automobile parking.
The neighborhood of the Bullitt Center in Seattle
Characteristic Space & Landscape
Plan and section
The Bullitt Center is an irregularly shaped, five-sided, six-story building with a footprint that covers about 98 percent of the site. All aspects of the design process were guided by the performance goals. Rather than treat sustainability and design as separate pursuits, Miller Hull sought to integrate the two. For example, the heavy-timber beams used in construction serve as a carbon sink as well as structural supports while accentuating and defining the interior spaces. The most visually distinctive element in the design is the solar panel roof that overhangs on all sides, creating a unique look for the building while also contributing greatly to its sustainability. The spacing of photovoltaic panels hanging over the sidewalks is designed to give the array and the shadows it casts an aesthetic touch.
Fronting the park at ground level, with its own entrance to the Bullitt Center, is a visitors’ center, which is managed by the UW Integrated Design Lab. The visitors’ center features exhibits on sustainable development, including energy, design, water, and materials. The building’s main entrance is along Madison Street at the northeast corner of the property. The entrance provides immediate access to a stairwell—encased in glass and jutting outward past the facade—that is a very dominant feature of the building. Called the “Irresistible Stairwell,” the staircase is meant to present an irresistible alternative to taking the elevator. By taking the stairs, tenants and visitors engage in a bit of exercise while conserving electricity. Denis Hayes reports that since moving into the building, he has had to repeatedly use tighter notches on his belt to the point where he is now wearing his belt at the tightest possible notch.
Ground-level Visitors’ center
Irresistible Stairwell
Work Space
Quantity Analysis
Total development costs for the Bullitt Center were $32,500,000, including land cost of $3,380,000, hard cost of $23,360,000, soft cost of $5,290,000, and finance cost of $470,000, which shows in table below. The major sources of funding included equity supplied by the Bullitt Foundation, a bank loan from U.S. Bank, and new markets tax credits (NMTCs).
As we can see from the table, the construction cost of Bullitt Center is $18.16 million, the total floor area is 52000 square feet, the construction cost for per square foot is about $349. According to the international construction cost survey in 2012, the construction cost for office building is about $252 per square foot around the world. However, in the USA, the construction cost is relatively higher than the international level. There are several example office building costs in North America in the survey , the average construction cost is around $429 per square foot, the construction cost for city center office building in Seattle is $427 per square foot. Therefore, the construction cost of Bullitt Center is lower than mean level in Seattle and North America.
Site transportation benefits
Project information