Building on two decades of working together, ZGF and Seattle Children’s have long been leaders creating in healthy environments for children and families. A lot has changed in that time, but one thing remains true: kids are one of the most vulnerable populations impacted by the complex social and environmental challenges we face as a society. This puts Seattle Children’s at the nexus of demand—to urgently address climate change—and opportunity—to innovate and lead in environmental stewardship.
The hospital has developed a robust sustainability program to minimize the impact of its operations, including in the design of its facilities. For ZGF, each project is an opportunity to support the hospital’s mission of delivering care.
In 2009, ZGF completed Seattle Children’s 2030 Major Institution Master Plan (MIMP), which established high-level, campuswide sustainability goals such as:
While the hospital has made significant progress, the regulatory environment has also shifted since completing the MIMP in the early 2000’s. Seattle energy codes set more stringent requirements for greenhouse gas emissions, and the Washington Clean Buildings Act, signed into law in 2019 and expanded in 2023, sets site-based energy use intensity (EUI) standards for commercial buildings.
Seattle Children’s recently doubled down on its sustainability commitments by signing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Sector Climate Pledge. ZGF was the first architecture firm signatory in 2023. All signatories commit to reduce their emissions by 50% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050, publicly report on progress, complete an inventory of Scope 3 emissions, and develop climate resilience plans for their facilities and communities.
ZGF is honored to join the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Health Sector Climate Pledge, standing with our nation’s leading healthcare organizations in recognizing and rising to the challenge of climate change.
Each ZGF project has moved the needle on the hospital’s path to net zero. The design of Forest A in 2013 incorporated a full life cycle cost and performance analysis of numerous proposed systems, including an extensive set of design options detailing the advantages and disadvantages of different energy-saving MEP systems, with the expressed goal of reducing energy consumption by 30% and achieving LEED Gold certification.
Forest A
Also LEED Gold certified, Forest B took it a step further, employing all-in approach to energy reduction that resulted in a target Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of just 117 kBtu/sf/year. For comparison, the Seattle average for a new hospital is 150-165 and a typical U.S. hospital is around 234 kBtu/sf/year. State of the art mechanical systems provide the highest level of health and safety, using a “backpack approach” where all MEP systems run vertically up the back of the building. This accommodates floor-to-floor department adjacencies, so if one floor fails, the next floor up or down can support it.
Forest B
Future facilities, such as Forest C, will need to achieve net-zero energy by going all electric, based on forthcoming Seattle energy code changes and the Washington Clean Buildings Act.
