The Southlake Union neighborhood of Seattle has become known for being home to a multitude of green buildings and sustainable building design projects. The neighborhood’s 2201 Westlake mixed-use development (now referred to as Enso) stands out among them. Having helped spark the revival of the downtown, lake front neighborhood, the development features a 7-story office structure and an adjacent 13-floor condominium known as “Enso.” Enso was the first mixed-use, high-rise residential project in the city to earn LEED Gold certification.

The two adjacent structures share a single high-performance central energy plant, which moves waste heat and cooling between the office space and adjacent condominium tower according to the time of day, optimizing the efficiency. Daylighting is featured throughout, with the entire façade of both structures covered in glass. All office levels at Enso include underfloor air delivery for efficient heating, cooling and ventilation. Additionally, water efficient fixtures and recycled or renewable materials were used throughout to demonstrate how to bring sustainable concepts to commercial spaces.

Size: Seven-story, 400,000 sf office building/13-story condominium
Completion Date: 2009
Architect: Callison
Contractor: Sellen Construction
Owner: Vulcan
Services: MEP Engineering

Image courtesy of Callison/Chris Eden