Category Archives: Sustainability

Rainwater Catchment, Sustainability

Heron Hall and Bullitt Center Take on Living Building Challenge

1 Comment

Bullitt CenterChances are if you’re from Seattle you have heard of the Bullitt Center.  According to its website, “The Bullitt Center was designed to show what’s possible today, changing the way people think about high performance green building.”

One of the most ambitious aspects of the Bullitt Center was to achieve the goals of the Living Building Challenge,  created by CEO Jason McLennan in 2006 and encourages eco-centric design. The Living Building Challenge carries the strictest green building requirements in the industry. 

HeronHall bulidNow McLennan is building his own home, Heron Hall, incorporating the same design challenges as the Bullitt Center. Heron Hall’s whole house water system is sole source, meaning that rainwater is the only source of water. The water system was designed by 2020 Engineering with RainBank Rainwater Systems as a consultant to the design team. RainBank was contracted to construct the 15,000 Gallon Contain Water Systems tank cistern and now is looking forward to building the filtration and pumping system.

McLennan recently published a blog post about the cistern build, which was completed last week. RainBank’s Engineer, Chad Lindsly, along with president Ken Blair are working on the final details of the system’s components and will be installing that portion of the system soon.

Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project. 

Commercial Rainwater Harvesting, Sustainability

Rainwater Harvesting With Architectural Design

1 Comment

SeaScoutBase_Galveston_RainBank_projectIt’s important to know how to incorporate the best components into an architectural design while also building an affordable, sustainable rainwater harvesting system.

Here’s what we talked about in Rainwater Collection Can Be Part of Architectural Design:

Rainwater collection can be part of architectural design, adding distinction to a building, bringing awareness to conservation, and letting others learn about the responsibility of green building practices.

Many new commercial construction projects are implementing stormwater management into their architectural designs, rather than simply meeting new regulations. Building designers and owners are showcasing their commitment to conservation, and incorporating functionality with aesthetics, in turn, this practice furthers customer and general public interest in conservation and rainwater collection, creating even more public awareness of the need for conservation and sustainable living practices.

“Lead by example”, my father used to say, “and it will inspire others to do the same.” Good advice when trying to do the right thing. Seattle and many other cities are recognizing the importance of rainwater collection as a method of controlling stormwater and are seeing the benefits associated with doing so. 

Goodwill Project Seattle_RainBankLLC_webOther projects that RainBank Rainwater Systems has been involved with include:

  • Sea Scouts building in Galveston, TX (top, left)
  • The Goodwill Building, Seattle, WA (right)
  • Edith Green Federal Building in Portland, OR
  • Federal Way School District, WA
  • Paul Allan’s project, South Lake Union, Seattle
  • Kirkland Safety Building, WA
  • Wallingford Fire Department, Seattle
  • Federal Aviation Building Neah Bay, WA
  • Tacoma School District Tacoma, WA
  • Seattle Arts Academy
  • Puget Sound Energy Seattle
  • Port of Gray’s Harbor, WA
  • Mill Creek Shopping Center, WA
  • Orcas Island School District, WA
  • Fort Lewis (Joint Base Lewis-McChord), WA – and more.

To recap, don’t wait to bring a rainwater harvesting professional into your project. We will work closely with your architect at the outset, to ensure a functioning and affordable water system.

Rainwater Catchment, Sustainability

Helping Future Rainwater Harvesting Engineer

Completed trussesFuture Rainwater Harvesting Engineer Seeks Help from RainBank

Seattle based RainBank Rainwater Systems receives many requests for information. Some questions come from homeowners building residential systems, others from architects, general contractors and engineers who may be interested in a commercial system design for toilet flushing or irrigation.

Recently we received an inquiry from a high school student in New Jersey interested in rainwater harvesting for a school project on water conservation. He was well prepared with a budget, total square foot of collection area, a plan of usage and most importantly, interest!

Hoping to harness his enthusiasm, Chad Lindsly, RainBank Engineering,  worked with the student on this theoretical design with demand/supply calculations, collection/storage coefficients, conveyance, filtration, costs and return on investments, all through email. He actually instructed the student on how to design a system, while meeting the scope of his school project. Between them, Chad and the student designed a sustainable, cost effective rainwater system that fell within the parameters of the school project’s criteria. The student is turning in his work today and we wish him the best.

RainBank Rainwater Systems has always been at the forefront of the advancement of conservation and sustainability education. Chad continues the tradition by paying it forward and taking the time to engage with a potential  future engineer.