Twelve West, Portland, Oregon, USA

Owned and developed by Gerding Edlen Development Company, Twelve West is located on SW 13th Avenue, at the intersection of 12th and Washington Streets. The modern mixed-use building (five levels of underground parking, retail, office and apartments) was designed by Zimmer Gunsul Fresca Architects and completed in July 2009. The designing team applied a wide range of features of sustainable design – a rooftop garden (557 square meters), use of low-impact building materials, reduction of water and energy use, natural ventilation and rainwater reclamation.

Gross floor area of the LEED Platinum-certified building is approximately 51,300 square meters (or 552,000 square feet). The main “pride” of the eco-friendly building is the wind turbine array installed on the roof which is visible from every corner of the busy city. The turbines weigh 90 kg (200 pounds) each, they have aluminum heads and fiberglass blades which are meant to reduce noise.

By Astghik Atabekyan, www.building.am