San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Headquarters: An insanely sustainable LEED Platinum building

I found this documentary on one of the most sustainable office buildings I’ve ever seen and (of course) it’s in San Francisco: 535 Golden Gate.

It only makes sense that it houses the city’s water, sewer and power department, and has  a Living Machine bioremediation / on-site water reclamation system.

Here are some of its specs:

GREEN BUILDING FEATURES:

525 Golden Gate consumes 32% less energy than similarly-sized office buildings.

• An integrated, hybrid solar array and wind turbine installation can generate up to 227,000 kWh/year or 7% of the building’s energy needs
• A state-of-the-art raised flooring system incorporates the building’s data and ventilation infrastructure and reduces heating, cooling and ventilation energy costs by 51%
• Maximizing daylight harvesting saves electricity and minimizes artificial lighting
• Lighting and work station equipment shutoff automatically after-hours

525 Golden Gate consumes 60% less water than similarly sized buildings.

• One of the first buildings in the nation with onsite treatment of gray and black water
• An onsite “Living Machine” reclaims and treats all of the building’s wastewater to satisfy 100% of the water demand for the building’s low-flow toilets and urinals
• The “Living Machine” system treats 5,000 gallons of wastewater per day and reduces per person water consumption from 12 gallons (normal office building) to 5 gallons
• The building’s 25,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system provides water for irrigation uses around the building.