Jason McLennam
We were truly honored to have Jason McLennan join us as the Keynote Speaker for the 2017 Northwest Green Building Summit. He shared the inspiring story of siting, designing and artfully creating his family home on Bainbridge Island, which they recently moved into: Heron Hall.
As the author of the Living Building Challenge, of course it had to be fully LBC certified! More than that it is an embodiment of regenerative design (a recurring theme in Summit keynotes!).
From restoring the site’s estuary wetlands to their natural tidal influence, to stunning use of sustainable and salvaged materials, to being net-zero energy and net-positive water, Heron Hall is a living testament to the power of buildings to heal humans’ tattered relationship with nature. Check out the project website, chock full of beautiful videos, sounds and stories about this island haven.
A few things we learned from his Keynote: Did you know?
- That the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild was the first organization to endorse the Living Building Challenge when it was introduced by Jason in 2006? He came to our Guild retreat at Pilgrim Firs that year and won our admiration and partnership which continues today!
- That there were numerous “code innovations” achieved at Heron Hall, including getting the City of Bainbridge Island to pass an ordinance so he could be water self-sufficient with filtered rainwater for all domestic uses, composting toilets and on-site wastewater management.
- That Jason relied heavily on reclaimed materials, artfully applied, from salvage stores including Guild member Second Use in Seattle?
