Western Washington University’s $75.5M Kaiser Borsari Hall earns zero-energy, zero-carbon certification

The 53,345-square-foot mass timber STEM building has achieved dual Living Future certification after a year of operational performance, validating a design that cut embodied carbon, reduced lab energy use, and eliminated fossil-fuel combustion.
Sept. 30, 2026
4 min read
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Key Highlights

  • Kaiser Borsari Hall is one of the few buildings worldwide to receive dual Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification based on actual performance data.
  • Mass timber construction contributed to a 79% reduction in embodied carbon and reduced foundation and seismic system material requirements.
  • The building operates independently from natural gas, using an all-electric HVAC system with photovoltaic panels covering 75% of the roof for net-zero energy operation.
  • Design strategies such as daylighting, high-performance glazing, and passive sunshades resulted in over 80% reduction in laboratory energy use.
  • The project exemplifies how sustainability goals can be achieved cost-effectively by integrating performance considerations early in the design process.
Photo by Kevin Scott | Courtesy of Mortenson
Exterior of the mass timber engineering and computer science building at Western Washington University.

Certified through the International Living Future Institute, Kaiser Borsari Hall at Western Washington University is one of the most sustainable higher education facilities in the U.S., achieving Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification, as well as Energy Petal certification through the Living Building Challenge.

Western Washington University’s Kaiser Borsari Hall has achieved Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification from the International Living Future Institute, which provides substantiated, third-party confirmation of the sustainability targets that shaped the building from its earliest design stages.

The four-story building in Bellingham, Wash., opened for instruction in January 2025 and houses electrical and computer engineering, computer science, and the university’s Institute for Energy Studies. Perkins&Will designed the 53,345-square-foot facility, with Mortenson serving as general contractor/construction manager.

Western’s most recent capital report listed the project’s amended budget at $75.5 million. The facility was substantially completed in September 2024 and dedicated that December before students and faculty moved in for the 2025 winter quarter.

Living Future now lists Kaiser Borsari Hall as having dual Zero Carbon and Zero Energy certification, which puts Western in a very small class of recipients of this honor. The programs rely on actual building performance rather than design projections alone, and final certification includes performance data reviewed through a third-party audit.

Mass timber helped cut embodied carbon

The project team evaluated concrete, steel, and timber structural systems during design and ultimately selected a mass timber system of cross-laminated timber panels and glulam beams and columns, a strategy which Mortenson says contributed to a 79% reduction in embodied carbon. The lighter structure also allowed the team to reduce foundation requirements and the amount of concrete and steel used in the seismic system. Mass timber was sourced from within 600 miles of the site, and prefabrication and BIM coordination reduced construction time by 25%, according to the contractor.

Notably, an early design decision also resulted in a substantial financial benefit for the client in the long run. The project team eliminated a planned basement electrical room and relocated the equipment to the first floor, a change which Mortenson estimates saved more than $2 million and avoided 226 tons of embodied carbon without reducing program space.

A sky bridge connecting Kaiser Borsari Hall to the adjacent Communications Facility enabled the university to make use of 23,500 assignable square feet of existing laboratory and office space rather than duplicating those functions in the new building.

All-electric systems reduce operating energy

Mortenson also announced that Kaiser Borsari Hall operates independently from Western’s natural gas-powered central steam plant and uses an all-electric mechanical system. A variable refrigerant flow HVAC system, energy modeling, high-performance glazing, daylighting, occupancy controls, demand-controlled ventilation, and other measures helped reduce laboratory energy use by more than 80%. The contractor added that the completed building delivers approximately 25% greater energy savings than LEED Gold-level performance.

Why it matters

Kaiser Borsari Hall is notable because its sustainability claims can now be compared with measured operating performance, rather than relying solely on modeled energy savings at the time of design. The project also demonstrates that carbon reduction doesn’t necessarily depend on adding costly systems. Some of its most consequential decisions—eliminating a basement, using existing space in an adjacent building, reducing structural weight, and selecting an efficient HVAC system—addressed capital cost, embodied carbon, and long-term energy use at the same time.

For colleges and universities considering high-performance construction, the project offers a useful facilities-planning lesson: sustainability targets are easier to preserve when cost and operational performance are evaluated during preconstruction rather than treated as add-ons after major design decisions have been made.

The project achieved an energy use intensity of 33.58 kBtu per square foot annually, compared with 168 kBtu per square foot for a typical laboratory building in the benchmark cited by the project team. Photovoltaic panels cover about 75% of the roof, and electricity not produced on site is supplied through Puget Sound Energy’s renewable-energy program, allowing the building to operate with net-zero energy and operational carbon emissions, according to a university announcement on the building’s certification milestone. Infrastructure also was incorporated for future battery storage.

Other passive strategies include south-facing sunshades, a high-performance curtain wall, and extensive daylighting with about 90% of occupied spaces have direct access to daylight and views, according to Mortenson.

STEM building doubles as a teaching tool

The systems that helped Kaiser Borsari Hall achieve certification are also intended to support its academic mission. The building includes teaching and research laboratories, active-learning classrooms, collaboration areas, a robotics lab, and other experiential learning spaces. Building systems and performance data are accessible to students and faculty so the facility itself can function as a “living laboratory” for engineering, energy, and building-science education.

Western originally pursued the project as the first publicly funded zero-energy academic building on a university campus in Washington state. The university says Kaiser Borsari Hall is part of a broader effort to move its campus toward zero-energy operation.

This piece was created with the help of generative AI tools and edited by our content team for clarity and accuracy.
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