When voters passed Portland Community College’s bond measure in 2008, the college committed to meeting or exceeding LEED^® Silver standards. The 13,500-square-foot campus center is not only LEED Platinum certified, it’s one of the first higher education buildings in Oregon—and one of only a few nationwide—to be on the path to achieving net zero.

With passive design features that take advantage of natural air flows and daylight, the building will use so little energy that a 100-kilowatt roof-mounted solar electric system will meet all the building’s energy needs over the course of a year.