The Irving R. Newhouse Building (Newhouse) received the Project Excellence Award for Washington State. The award honors an exceptional project that represents significant advancement in green building design. Newhouse was one of 28 projects recognized by the USGBC and the only Washington project to receive the Project Excellence Award.

DES Director Matt Jones says, “Newhouse is a shining example of how a government building can honor architectural history while advancing green building practices. Through creative design and the reuse of materials found in the original building, and nearby Press Houses, the project cut down on greenhouse gas emissions while improving environmental performance, stewarding these public resources for generations to come.”

Newhouse building design

Receiving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest level for green buildings, Newhouse bridges the neoclassical designs of years gone by with contemporary use and focus on sustainability. Newhouse is one of only three buildings on campus with LEED Platinum certification.

The mass timber floor decks, made of an engineered wood product that helps reduce the embodied carbon or carbon emitted over the life-cycle of materials, are exposed and make up the ceilings of the floor below in over 60% of the building. The acoustic dowel laminated wood floors and decks also optimize sound absorption and contribute to the building’s overall energy efficiency.

Both for sustainability and historic preservation, DES used marble, sandstone, and interior glass panels salvaged from the original building. For example, the focal point of all who enter the building is the four story “feature wall” made of Douglas fir timber salvaged from the deconstructed historic 1920s and ‘30’s Carlyon and Ayer Press Houses.

The design marries utility with sustainability at all levels. Even the roof has solar panels that increase the buildings’ overall energy efficiency and account for 20% of the building’s energy demand. Additionally, the building is net zero ready as directed by former Gov. Jay Inslee’s State Efficiency and Environmental Performance Executive Order 20-01.

Legislative Campus Modernization

Legislative Campus Modernization (LCM) is a series of three projects on the historic West Capitol Campus. The completed Newhouse Replacement Project is the first phase of LCM. The second phase of the project, which is currently underway, is the renovation and expansion of the Joel Pritchard State Library. The final phase of LCM is the renovation of the third and fourth floors of the John L. O’Brien Building.

Department of Enterprise Services

The Department of Enterprise Services (DES) stewards the Washington State Capitol Campus, an internationally accredited arboretum. The 403-acre campus includes five parks, 18 monuments and works of art and the 260 Capitol Lake, which is being restored to an estuary. Each year, DES welcomes more than 400 public and private events and hundreds of thousands of visitors to the historic Capitol Campus. See a list of upcoming events.

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Photos and video are available to use with attribution to the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services.

• Project construction photos
• Project timelapse video