Miller Hull

A Recently Launched Initiative Takes Responsibility for Climate Change Impacts from the Built Environment

Seattle, WA — In 2021, The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP offset 16,679 tCO2e (tons of carbon) as part of their recently launched EMission Zero initiative — a program announced in 2021 targeting the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment. A major component of EMission Zero is Miller Hull’s commitment to voluntarily purchase Green-E certified carbon offsets to cover the embodied emissions of each built project upon completion. Using the tool, Tally, embodied carbon emissions are calculated to determine the amount of carbon offsets to purchase.

Last year, Miller Hull offset embodied carbon emissions of seven projects ranging in scale, location, and typology, demonstrating that projects of all kinds can positively impact the future of the global environment. Substantially completed in 2021, projects include Seattle’s 333 Dexter, the new U.S. Embassy in Niamey, Niger, San Diego’s Parco, the Santa Monica City Yards Fleet Building, the University of California Santa Cruz Environmental Health & Safety Facility, the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station, and Matt’s Place.

Buildings are developed through the decisions and partnership of the Owner, Designer, and Contractor; within this framework, Miller Hull commits to offsetting their portion of every project and to encourage project partners to join in this effort. To establish transparency, Miller Hull has published their embodied carbon calculations and the amount and type of offsets purchased for every building completed from here onward, starting with the seven below.

333 Dexter
Seattle, WA

333 Dexter is a dynamic new 635,000-square-foot mixed-use office building in Seattle’s South Lake Union. The project provides a model workplace, permeable street edges, and generous open spaces that support street-level uses and retail shops for a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented streetscape in what has historically been one of the city’s most vehicle-centric corridors. The total upfront embodied carbon impact of the structure, enclosure, and interiors was calculated at 30,025 tCO2e. Miller Hull’s purchased offset contribution is 10,008 tCO2e — that impact is equivalent to the impact of driving an average passenger vehicle between Miller Hull studios in Seattle and San Diego just over twenty thousand times — with the offsets funding the Dempsey Ridge Wind Energy Farm Project.

Project Type: Commercial- New construction
Size: 958,000 sf
Construction Type: Type IB – Predominantly concrete

333 Dexter

New U.S. Embassy
Niamey, Niger 

The multi-building campus of the new U.S Embassy is situated on an existing 10-acre embassy site and includes new buildings that replace aging structures with those that meet current security and life safety standards. The total upfront embodied carbon impact of the structure, enclosure, and interiors was calculated at 13,729 tCO2e. Miller Hull’s voluntarily purchased offset contribution is 4,576 tCO2e  — that impact is equivalent to the impact of driving an average passenger vehicle between Miller Hull studios in Seattle and San Diego just over nine thousand times — with the offsets funding the Dempsey Ridge Wind Energy Farm Project and Winston Creek Forest Carbon Project.

Project Type: Embassy – New Construction
Size: 122,000 SF
Construction Type: Type IB Predominantly Concrete

New U.S. Embassy

Parco
National City, CA

Parco is a newly completed mixed-use project in San Diego’s National City consisting of a 131,000 square foot, 8-story building offering 127 residential units and ground-floor commercial space. The project is a first-of-its-kind that stands as a catalyst to an emerging urban center. The total upfront embodied carbon impact of the structure, enclosure, and interiors was calculated at 2,851 tCO2e. Miller Hull’s purchased offset contribution is 950 tCO2e  — that impact is equivalent to the impact of driving an average passenger vehicle between Miller Hull studios in Seattle and San Diego almost two thousand times — with the offsets funding the Blandin Native American Hardwoods Conservation and Carbon Sequestration Project.

Project Type: Mixed Use – New construction
Size: 131,000 sf
Construction Type: Type IIIA + VB – Predominantly wood frame

Parco

Santa Monica City Yards Fleet Building
Santa Monica, California 

The Santa Monica City Yards Fleet Building is part of the critical upgrade to the heart of operations for essential City of Santa Monica services. The total upfront embodied carbon impact of the structure, enclosure, and interiors was calculated at 2,241 tCO2e. Miller Hull’s purchased offset contribution is 747 tCO2e — that impact is equivalent to the impact of driving an average passenger vehicle between Miller Hull studios in Seattle and San Diego 1,497 times — with the offsets funding the Dempsey Ridge Wind Energy Farm Project and Winston Creek Forest Carbon Project.

Project Type: Infrastructure – New Construction
Size: 33,000 SF
Construction Type: Type IIB Predominantly Concrete Masonry & Steel

Santa Monica City Yards Fleet Building

Environmental Health & Safety Facility
University of California, Santa Cruz  

The new Environmental Health & Safety Facility on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus will manage chemical and low-level radioactive waste generated by teaching, research, and campus maintenance activities. The total upfront embodied carbon impact of the structure, enclosure, and interiors was calculated at 620 tCO2e. Miller Hull’s purchased offset contribution is 207 tCO2e — that impact is equivalent to the impact of driving an average passenger vehicle between Miller Hull studios in Seattle and San Diego 415 times — with the offsets funding the Dempsey Ridge Wind Energy Farm Project and Winston Creek Forest Carbon Project.

Project Type: Higher Education – New Construction
Size: 7,000 SF
Construction Type: Type IIIA Predominantly Concrete & Steel

Environmental Health & Safety Facility 

Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station
Seattle, WA

The total upfront embodied carbon impact of the structure, enclosure, and interiors was calculated at 527 tCO2e. Miller Hull’s purchased offset contribution is 176 tCO2e  — that impact is equivalent to the impact of driving an average passenger vehicle between Miller Hull studios in Seattle and San Diego approximately three hundred  times — with the offsets funding the Blandin Native American Hardwoods Conservation and Carbon Sequestration Project

Project Type: Infrastructure – New construction
Size: 6,000 sf
Construction Type: Type VB – Predominantly concrete

Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station

Matt’s Place
Spokane, WA

Matt’s Place is a foundation that provides housing and support to those with ALS. This prefabricated case-study house is meant to push the boundaries of accessible design and test new methods of construction for future Matt’s Place Houses. The total upfront embodied carbon impact of the structure, enclosure, and interiors was calculated at 15 tCO2e. Miller Hull’s purchased offset contribution covers the entire 15 tCO2e  — that impact is equivalent to the impact of driving an average passenger vehicle between Miller Hull studios in Seattle and San Diego thirty times — with the offsets funding the Blandin Native American Hardwoods Conservation and Carbon Sequestration Project.

Project Type: Single-family – New construction
Size: 1,600 sf
Construction Type: Type IV – Mass timber

Matt’s Place

Worldwide, the industry is poised to build the equivalent of one New York City every month until 2060. The building industry must take immediate action to invest in a climate-smart future. As Miller Hull starts the next chapter of their environmental stewardship to create real, fundamental change that ripples out beyond each project they design, they invite all those responsible for the future of the built environment to join their commitment to action: Design, Educate, Advocate, and Offset.

Find more detailed information about the EMission Zero initiative here.

About The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP

The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP is an internationally recognized architecture, planning, urban, and interior design firm that works to create a regenerative and inclusive future through the built environment. Since its founding in 1977, Miller Hull has been designing dynamic and environmentally responsible buildings that provide enduring value for their communities. Their designs include five Living Building Challenge certified buildings, a number no other firm in the world has achieved. The firm has a studio in Seattle and San Diego with work extending across multiple typologies for a range of public and private clients where people Live, Work, Learn, Gather and Serve. Widely recognized for innovative, timeless designs and a partnership-driven practice, Miller Hull has received over 400 local, regional, national, and international awards for design excellence, including the American Institute of Architects Firm Award and Architect 50’s Top Firm for Sustainability. For more information, please visit www.millerhull.com.

PR Contact
Amy Golden
PAXSON FAY
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