Airport building pushes green limits

New headquarters to unite Port staff, expand PDX parking

By Jim Redden

Pamplin Media Group, May 14, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

JONATHAN HOUSE / PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTO

Facade of the new Port of Portland headquarters at Portland International Airport features ample windows to channel ambient light into the parking structure.

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Could there be anything less sustainable than an airport parking garage?

They encourage people to drive cars to catch flights on airplanes — both of which emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases.

So it may seem odd that construction crews are erecting what may be the world’s greenest parking garage at Portland International Airport. It’s part of the new headquarters for the Port of Portland, which operates the airport.

The building, scheduled to open in 2010, will include seven floors of public parking topped by three floors of office space — all designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold standards, the second-highest sustainability level set by the U.S Green Building Council.

“We are committed to incorporating green building techniques into all of our projects, and the headquarters building is the most ambitious one yet,” says Bill Wyatt, the port’s executive director.

Airport visitors can spot the 10-story building under construction as they approach the terminal, east of the short-term parking garage, next to the flight control tower.

The building is among the greenest projects ever attempted at any airport in the world, says Daniel Gilkison, the port’s lead engineer on the project.

“We did a lot of looking around as we were designing this project,” he says. “You have to look far and wide to find any office building or parking garage at any airport with this level of sustainability.”

To meet this goal, cutting-edge technologies are being installed in both parts of the building — beginning with the ground underneath it. Before the foundations were poured, 200 wells were dug 300 feet deep for geothermal heating and cooling. Water will be continuously circulated through these wells, with the temperature differences tapped to provide heat in the winter and cooler air in the summer.

Water will circulate within the building through radiant heating and cooling panels in the ceilings above employee workstations. Looking like small radiators behind stainless steel screens, these allow the warm and cool air to be concentrated where workers spend their time, not in hallways or other underused areas.

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