Buchan Building

Our new  LEED Gold Certified Buchan Building  was dedicated on September 16, 2007. This structure adds 20,000 square feet to our property, and includes ten classrooms, a large and dividable reception area, a courtyard with native plantings, a two-story atrium, a private meeting room overlooking the courtyard, and additional office space. The project also included remodeling an adjacent, existing kitchen which serves the new building. This building was designed by Thomas Hacker Architects and built by P and C Construction.

This wonderful new addition to the First Unitarian Church gives us more space for Religious Education classes on Sundays, as well as classroom space for a private middle and high school during the week. We also gained an additional 2,600 square feet for a reception space with an adjacent private courtyard. This area allows for wedding receptions, conferences, workshops, films, speakers, and meeting space.

Planning

The concept for the new building began around 1998 with a Request for Qualifications from local architects to develop a Master Plan for the entire block owned by the Church. Thomas Hacker Architects was chosen to work with a dedicated church committee for the eventual re-development of the entire property. Following renovations of the Main Sanctuary and the Eliot Chapel over the past few years, the Buchan Building is the first new structure to be built as part of our Master Plan.

Design

This project was fairly complex from a design standpoint, due to site constraints and the need to join the new building with the existing structures. Although all buildings shared a common elevation on the ground level, they have different ceiling heights, requiring a central stairwell with five landings and an elevator with seven stops and doors on two sides. This allows three of our buildings to function together in a simple and elegant manner, as well as accessibility to all of the floors. The design also allows for an entrance ramp to underground parking in the future.

The building was designed to serve as a multi-purpose building. It includes classroom and meeting space, a large reception area, and an outdoor courtyard. The building takes maximum advantage of natural light with abundant use of glass on the north and south sides.  Several of the rooms have moveable partitions to maximize flexibility; the reception area has two moveable partitions creating various combinations of available space. The large elevator allows for easy movement and storage of furniture throughout the building, as well as accessing the remodeled kitchen on the lower level.

The new courtyard is a central feature of the Buchan Building. Surrounded by structures on all sides, it gives a private, inviting, and contemplative space adjacent to the reception area and the two-story atrium. It is landscaped with native plantings and the pavers are inlaid with a labyrinth design, drawing from the long tradition of the labyrinth in the Unitarian Universalist Church.

LEED

Our building has a LEED Gold Certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the recognized standard established by the US Green Building Council for sustainable development and construction. The standards incorporate many different environmental elements including energy efficiency, water consumption, materials selection, and indoor air quality, as well as broader considerations like recycling and encouraging alternative transportation. LEED Gold is the second highest rating under the USGBC system. (For more information about LEED go to www.usgbc.org).

Much time and effort was spent on evaluating various environmental approaches and technologies and balancing those with budget and other considerations. The resulting building is highly energy efficient (approximately 30% better than code), water efficient, and maximized the use of resources through recycled content materials and the use of regionally available materials. A few examples of the environmental elements include:

• The use of CFC/HCFC- free mechanical equipment in the heating, cooling and air conditioning system (HVAC)
• Maximum use of glazing to reduce lighting needs
• Daylight sensors that dim light fixtures according to the amount of natural light available
• Occupant sensors that turn on and off the lights and HVAC according to room activity
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures
• Courtyard planters treat Stormwater runoff from the roof before discharging to the municipal system
• High-reflective roof coating to minimize heat gain and reduce heat-island effect
• High quality glazing to reduce heat gain

The comprehensive LEED standards also included encouraging the recycling of construction waste and demolition debris. Of the three buildings that were deconstructed to make room for the new building, over 97% of those materials were recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill.

These design elements will not only return long-term savings to the Church in the form of lower operating costs, but they are examples to the congregants, members, and the general public who visit our buildings about how to lessen our environmental footprint on our planet.

Our Thanks to You

This entire project was made possible by the efforts and contributions of many dedicated people, including the Building Committee, the architects, the general contractor, and most importantly, the very generous donations from many in our congregation. This project would not have been possible without this effort; thanks to all who participated.

Links:

Environmental Features of the Buchan Building

U.S. Green Building Council

Oregonian article - "The Green Gospel"

Portland Tribune article - "Christians Add Green Crusade"