Understanding and materializing a client's vision is central to the stated philosophy of Seattle-based design firm, Weber Thompson. This credo was expressed clearly when the firm decided to design its new headquarters—an office intended to reflect its vision. The Terry Thomas provides a window into the soul of a firm that practices what it preaches and whose approach to sustainability is as much rooted in common sense as it is in the eco-enthusiasm of its employees. Expected to earn a LEED Core and Shell Gold rating from the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council, the building’s straightforward green features are integrated into the décor. The Terry Thomas stands as an example to clients, tenants and the community.

Long a resident of Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, Weber Thompson was fast outgrowing its leased office space, which was in a building with a 1980s design and an antiquated HVAC system. As the firm grew to include more than 80 employees, it became clear that a new space was needed.

“When the decision to relocate came up, we conducted a series of discussions and surveys within the office,” recalls Peter Greaves, AIA, LEED AP, principal at Weber Thompson. “The two most consistent and highest-rated points were for daylighting and natural ventilation. Those concepts really drove the design and construction of this building.

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COOL LIKE THAT
With the mandate of the firm’s employees, the decision was made to build a new office that would rely completely on a passive cooling system, using natural airflow to regulate the building’s temperature. “We wanted to continue the sustainable-design approach we’ve been doing with our clients and walk the talk,” Greaves remarks. “It’s one thing to do this work for your clients; it’s another to push the envelope and do it yourself. The Terry Thomas probably is the first non-air-conditioned office built in Seattle in 50 years.”

Weber Thompson occupies 25,000 square feet (2323 m2) of the 40,000-square-foot (3716-m2) Terry Thomas building. The structure is built around an open-air courtyard and has operable windows on all four faces. A series of louvers, controlled by temperature and carbon-dioxide sensors, operate in tandem so the courtyard and outside faces open together and create natural airflow. Heating comes from a hot-water perimeter baseboard system. The building’s structural system uses concrete slab, which has the thermal capacity to hold heat in the winter and coolness in the summer.

“Mechanical engineers did a great deal of thermal modeling for us. They were able to determine what our comfort level will be in this building,” says Scott Thompson, AIA, LEED AP, senior principal for Weber Thompson and lead principal of the Terry Thomas project. “As it turns out, the inside temperature will exceed 85 F [29 C] approximately 18 to 21 hours per year. In Seattle, that’s typically going to happen in the late afternoon. It’s one of those things we’ll have to adapt to; if that means people come in earlier and leave earlier a few days a year, that’s what we’ll do.”

This small concession doesn’t appear to be an issue for other tenants, either. All but one small office space and one commercial space already are filled, and there are letters of intent from prospective tenants for those two remaining spaces.

While this unconventional approach to cooling, which makes no use of traditional air-conditioning systems, raised a few eyebrows during construction, Weber Thompson was confident in its collective decision. “We held our ground,” Thompson says. “It is a critical component of this building. Seattle has a temperate, mild climate with very low humidity—there’s no reason we can’t build this kind of structure here.”

LIVING DAYLIGHT
The other main item on the firm’s wish list, daylighting, is evident everywhere in the new headquarters. With the building’s courtyard design, floor plates are only 36-feet (11-m) deep, allowing an abundance of natural light into the office. White interiors, open studio spaces and low-height office walls add to a strategy that makes the most of available daylight.

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As with the thermal aspects of the building, extensive modeling was done to determine the proper approach to lighting the interior. Part of the challenge was to find a way to use as much available sunlight as possible without overly impacting the building’s internal temperature. A series of shading systems were the key to walking this thin line.

“We have two types of shading systems,” Thompson explains. “On the east and west façades of the building, we have fixed, glazed sunshades. On the northeast angled and west façades, as well as in our courtyard, we have exterior blinds that are controlled with sun and wind sensors.”

The two systems work together to balance the natural lighting inside the building. When there is direct sunlight, there may be one façade that’s shut completely, but light still enters the office from the courtyard or from one of the other sides of the building. “With the narrow floor plate, courtyard and multiple exposures, there are very few dark pockets in this entire building,” Thompson says. “For the most part, it’s a very balanced, naturally lit space.”

SAVINGS
With the energy saved from these and other measures throughout the building, the firm projects the Terry Thomas will save approximately 30 percent in energy consumption when compared to a more traditional construction. “Our connected lighting load is about 0.46 watts per foot, which is less than half the Washington state energy code of 1 watt per foot,” Greaves says.

A 30 percent savings in water consumption also is expected. The building uses waterless urinals, dual-flush toilets and sensor-driven faucets. If watering of the perimeter landscaping is necessary, it is done by hand to conserve water.

“Any savings we get in the operating expenses goes into our pockets,” Thompson remarks.” That’s a real incentive for developers. If a potential tenant is looking at a typical Class-A office building with standard HVAC while there is a building across the street that offers the opportunity to save 30 percent in energy consumption, which building will that tenant take? That’s really where the market is going.”

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OLD SCHOOL
Weber Thompson moved into the building in April and its employees are excited to be in their new space, which was built around their collective goals and ideas. “We have a young culture that really believes strongly in sustainability,” Greaves says. “There’s been a lot of enthusiasm about taking it to the next level.”

With more than 40 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff, eco consciousness is very much a part of the atmosphere at Weber Thompson. Employees participate in numerous recycling and composting efforts, and some even have formed a volunteer group that meets weekly to come up with new ideas to make the firm more carbon neutral. Some employee-driven programs include planting trees, bike-to-work competitions and an initiative to use biodegradable signs on the firm’s job sites.

The building also has drawn interest from the community. Groups tour the building each week, allowing visitors to see the green techniques at work. “It’s a calm structure and doesn’t scream sustainable design from curb level, but when you walk through the building and see it, it makes a whole lot of sense,” Greaves says. “We’ve taken a very careful and minimal approach, using structural systems as finished surfaces wherever we can. The sustainable design is not added on; it’s part of the bones of the building.”

With its use of natural airflow and daylight, the Terry Thomas might be an innovative office building, but it makes no claim of being high tech or cutting edge. “A lot of things in this building are kind of old school. The idea that you can open windows on all four sides of the building isn’t a particularly new idea,” Greaves asserts. “I think it’s something we forgot about for the last 50 years because we were in these hermetically sealed bottles. By stepping back and looking at the building holistically, we were able to incorporate a lot of things that, taken together, create a unique office environment for our firm and serve as a physical representation of our design culture.”

GREEN TEAM

  • ARCHITECT / Weber Thompson, Seattle, www.weberthompson.com
  • OWNER AND DEVELOPER / First Western Development, Seattle, (425) 329-0848
  • GENERAL CONTRACTOR / Rafn Co., Bellevue, Wash., www.rafn.com
  • MECHANICAL ENGINEER AND THERMAL MODELING / Stantec Consulting, Seattle, www.stantec.com
  • CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEER / DCI Engineers, Bellevue, www.dci-engineers.com
  • COMMERCIAL AND LEASING AGENT / Stephen C. Grey & Associates LLC, Seattle, www.scga.com
  • DAYLIGHT MODELING / University of Washington Integrated Design Lab, Seattle, www.daylightinglab.com

MATERIALS AND SOURCES