• Images courtesy of Lara Swimmer.

  • Images courtesy of Lara Swimmer.

  • Images courtesy of Lara Swimmer.

  • Images courtesy of Lara Swimmer.

  • Images courtesy of Lara Swimmer.

  • Images courtesy of Lara Swimmer.

Bush School, Upper School

Seattle, WA

Project Categories

Living Buildings + Net-Zero
High-performing buildings
K-12 education

Business Type

New expansion of elementary school.

Size

20,000 square feet

The Bush School, Upper School will become the largest Passive House school on the West Coast. A true learning laboratory, the educational building includes outdoor and indoor classrooms, work rooms and multipurpose space, study lounges, administrative offices, and kitchenettes.

Architect

Mithun

Lighting Design

LUMA

Services

Mechanical engineering

Electrical engineering

LUMA Lighting Design

Building performance analysis

Sustainability

Certifications

  • Passive House

Progress Report

  • Pursuing 20 by 2020 Building Challenge
  • ILFI Zero Energy
  • Salmon Safe

Special features

  • Projected EUI of 23 compared to typical EUI of 48.5 for schools
  • Energy savings of 73% from code baseline
  • Dedicated Outside Air System (DOAS) with heat recovery
  • Air-to-water heat pump with electric boiler backup
  • Passive heating and cooling help the building stay energy efficient and improve thermal comfort
  • Large windows offer an abundance of natural light, ventilation, foster a sense of connection to the outdoors, and add a learning component through operability
  • Outdoor learning laboratory adds hands-on learning component for the students
  • Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar panel array