Greenfire Campus

Situated on .85 acres in the dense core of the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Greenfire’s two buildings total over 30,500 SF and house apartments, offices, and a restaurant. The grounds support urban agriculture and provide a wildlife habitat in a manner that connects occupants and passers by alike to the natural world.

In addition to the search for sensible strategies, the Greenfire Campus explores the prospect of a natural context within the urban environment. This context is provided through the aggressive expression of the full range of human interaction with nature. This includes environments where natural conditions prevail, promoting habitat for flora and fauna and at the other extreme where human activities dominate, streets, sidewalks, and plazas designed as part of the urban experience and as generators of social sustainability.

Exploration of this paradigm includes the use of geothermal heating and cooling; the exchange of energy between uses whose needs vary during the day; passive cooling through natural ventilation; provisions for edible horticulture; the use and reintroduction of rain and storm water into the earth with attendant reduction in infrastructure; and the use of solar energy for heating, cooling, daylighting and other impactful human activities. Basic systems were selected to provide a balance between capital investment and life cycle costs. Beyond the technical applications, the Greenfire Campus promotes human interaction and the creation of a sustainable core within the Ballard community.