| August 22, 2002
News Release With the click of a mouse, you can now see how King County employees working at King Street Center step out of elevators onto tiles made of recycled glass. Click again and see how they can flush toilets with rainwater, or how office floors are carpeted with the largest installation of reused carpet in North America. All the environmentally-friendly elements that make King Street Center the most cutting edge, ecologically progressive building in the region are now available for viewing online via the King Street Center Virtual Tour at: http://dnr.metrokc.gov/dnrp/ksc_tour/. "The construction of this building has provided a wonderful opportunity for King County to demonstrate the use of sustainable building materials and practices," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "We expect the launch of the new King Street Center Virtual Tour will help us communicate these important messages to a much broader audience." King County leads as many as 35 groups a year on tours of the building because of the high interest in its unique "green building" designs, recycled products and sustainable features. Now the King Street Center Virtual Tour will allow interested builders, governments, recycled material manufacturers and suppliers, and individuals to see the "green" possibilities available in today's engineering from the convenience of their work or home computer screen. The concept of a "green building" was embraced by the King Street Center's developer Wright Runstad. It refers to designing, constructing and operating buildings and landscapes to incorporate energy efficiency, water conservation, waste minimization, pollution prevention, resource-efficient materials, and indoor environmental quality in all phases of a building's life. These practices not only conserve valuable natural resources, they also provide economic and health benefits to building owners, occupants, and the community at large. Environmental highlights at King Street Center include an on-site water reclamation system that collects storm runoff and groundwater that would normally flow into the sewer system. The water is used for flushing toilets, saving more than a million gallons of domestic water annually. Not only does the building make extensive use of recycled materials, it is energy efficient by maximizing natural light and using sensors to automatically turn off lights when rooms are vacant. Because of its proximity to historic Pioneer Square, the eight-story office building's design was required to harmonize with architectural styles of the past. King County also wanted the building to reflect the mission of a major tenant, the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, to protect natural resources and reduce waste going into county landfills. King Street Center, located at 201 S. Jackson Street, west of King Street Station, at South Jackson Street and Second Avenue South, opened in 1999 with eight stories of office space and a parking garage. The 327,000 square foot building houses 1,500 employees of the county's Department of Natural Resources and Parks and Department of Transportation. For more details about the King Street Center or the King Street Center Virtual Tour, contact Deborah Brockway at (206) 296-1927. Related Information
King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks |
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