在2010年与西雅图超级可持续的Bullitt中心的所有者开发人员的建设前会议上，这位50,000平方英尺的咨询工程师对电力插头负载进行了轻微的崩溃，这是绿色建造能力保护的无声杀手。保罗·施维尔（Paul Schwer）最终击败了他的插件载agita，这体现了工作团队成员经常被迫在3000万美元的项目中退出舒适区的方式。通过这样做，他们不仅改善了布利特中心，还为其他人创建了一个榜样。

"Once someone demonstrates something is possible, others can do it," says Denis Hayes, president of the Bullitt Foundation since 1992 and the catalyst for the multi-tenant, self-sustaining building. In 1970, Hayes, then 25, coordinated the first Earth Day, which triggered the nation's environmental movement. Still, he calls Bullitt Center the realization of a dream "to do something exceptional."

Bullitt Center is built to satisfy its own energy, water and waste needs in a revenue-producing environment. The center also serves as Bullitt's living laboratory to further the foundation's mission of elevating environmental awareness.

海耶斯（Hayes）通过建议位于俄勒冈州俄勒冈州的波特兰公司Pae Consulting Engineers Inc.启动了Schwer的插件负载担忧，该公司在Bullitt Center开设了西雅图办公室。插头负荷是100人机械 - 电动式工程师总裁的问题，因为一年历史的建筑正在成为美国首个在生活建筑挑战下认证的城市中期投机性发展。LBC由国际生活未来研究所（ILFI）开发，是一项苛刻的自我维持建筑的计划，这使得即使尝试使用LEED绿色建设评级系统的最高水平也看起来像孩子的游戏。

Among many things, LBC certification is predicated on annual net-zero energy use, which means all power used in a year does not exceed the power produced by the rooftop solar photovoltaic array. LBC tenants must commit, in their leases, to very low plug loads, which typically are unrestricted and account for half of all the power used in an office building.

Engineers' plug loads are usually higher than average, thanks to their use of power-drawing high-end computers for analysis. Schwer knew PAE could not meet Bullitt's plug-load diet. "I had a sinking feeling because I knew we couldn't even move into this building we were designing," says Schwer.

但工程师不想disappoint Hayes, so he found a plug-load-reduction solution that not only allowed PAE to move in but also serves as a model for any business. "If we engineers can do it, any other firm can do it," says Schwer.

PAE slashed Bullitt Center plug loads by buying more energy-efficient computers, including light-emitting-diode monitors, laptops and a centralized server instead of desktop computers. Housed in a dedicated room, the server offers the same speed as desktops, uses less power and makes heat recovery possible, says Schwer. He then decided to switch to the more efficient computer technology in PAE's Portland and San Francisco offices, as well.

Bullitt Center has all the bells and whistles of sustainability. Its 14,303-sq-ft rooftop PV system has the capacity to generate 16,000 Btu per sq ft per year—the same figure as the energy-use target. A typical Seattle office building uses 70,000 Btu per sq ft per year, according to Bullitt.

Rainwater is harvested and stored in a 56,000-gallon basement cistern. Waste management is on-site. The building is naturally ventilated and 82% naturally lit. A geothermal heating and cooling system has twenty-six 400-ft-deep wells. Steel and concrete originated within a 300-mile radius and wood within a 600-mile radius. Built with non-toxic products and materials, the center is built to last 250 years.

对于海耶斯来说，该项目的成功围绕了团队范围的合作，合作和协调。2009年6月，为了奠定舞台，他为建筑团队的大约40名领导人举行了为期两天的研讨会。LBC的创始人杰森·麦克伦南（Jason McLennan）是国际生活学院总裁兼首席执行官Jason McLennan介绍LBC哲学。

随后进行了一年的每周构建前会议，并于2011年8月开始建设。