Designed and engineered to last 500 years, the PAE Living Building is the first developer-driven and largest commercial office Living Building in the world.

The five-story building proves the financial viability of developing mixed-use commercial structures that improve both their urban and ecological context. Its aesthetic appeal and sustainability approach are rooted in simplicity, with a design that showcases how high-performance design can positively impact people and planet.

Built on an existing parking lot in Portland, Oregon’s Old Town Historic District, the project was required to respond to detailed district regulations addressing aesthetics and material selection. With a nod to the style and scale of the surrounding structures, the building’s design utilizes the golden ratio, based on the Fibonacci sequence, as a proportional guide. Found both in nature and classical architecture, the golden ratio proportions result in a facade that is aesthetically pleasing, respects the historic district, and is both modern and timeless.

The design seamlessly integrates complex systems to support superior levels of occupant comfort and productivity while using less energy, water, and material than comparable buildings. All the PAE Living Building’s needs are met via onsite water capture and solar arrays that generate 108% of the annual energy necessary to operate the building. One of the first buildings in Portland to install a PV-powered battery storage system with two-way connection to the city grid, the building gives energy back to the city while the batteries provide resiliency and manage the back-feeding restrictions in the downtown electrical grid.

The building’s entire water needs are met via rainwater capture that is treated onsite. A 71,000-gallon underground cistern is sized to serve use even in low water years, and water captured on ground level canopies is channeled into planters along the building edge. The building is disconnected from the city water and sewer system, utilizing a multistory-vacuum-flush toilet system transforms to waste into a nutrient-rich resource.

Occupant comfort and health is prioritized in every system and material. Operable windows allow the interior environment to fully open to the exterior on the east and south façades, drawing in fresh air and light. A deckony on the top floor of the building is the social heart of the building, combining the benefits of the view one would get from a rooftop deck with the protection of a covered balcony. Exposed mass timber beams provide a sense of warmth while also serving as the structure of the building and reducing embodied carbon emissions by 40%. Simple and clean concrete topping slabs provide comfortable radiant heating and cooling. Healthy Red List Free material selections, daylighting, biophilic elements, and ventilation strategies all support a productive, healthy workplace.

The success of the PAE Living Building goes beyond proving that meeting the highest sustainability standards for new building is financially viable in a developer-driven model, showing Portland and the rest of the world what is possible in commercial development.