2010 EEA National Gold Winner – Wood Harbinger’s ShoWare Center

Gold Award – Building/Technology Systems

Wood Harbinger – ShoWare Center

Client: City of Kent, WA

The City of Kent's ShoWare Center, new home to the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team, is the first LEED Gold Certified, multi-purpose events arena in the United States. Wood Harbinger was the mechanical engineer and an active participant in the LEED Certification process for this energy-efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective project. The facility can adapt for events ranging from concerts and theatrical performances to hockey games and motocross races.

Wood Harbinger focused on sustainability throughout the mechanical design process. As an entertainment facility, ShoWare required elements that are rarely conducive to energy efficiency such as high-tech lighting, ice-maintenance equipment, and complete air flushing for smoke or vehicle exhaust. For instance, during concerts that involve pyrotechnics or motocross races, the polluted air can be completely flushed from the facility.  Also, waste heat from the ice refrigeration system is reclaimed and used to warm the ground beneath the ice rink to maintain the integrity of the foundation, and to melt ice collected by the Zamboni machine.  Even the arena’s parking lot plays a role in helping the environment – a gravel layer beneath the parking lot acts as a sponge during heavy rain to control runoff, releasing the water back into a nearby drainage system.  Wood Harbinger's creative applications of sustainable features in the heating, cooling, and lighting systems exceed national standards for low energy use by 37 percent, and provide lifetime cost benefits for the City of Kent.

Wood Harbinger's coordination with the owner, design team, and contractors supported this project in meeting strict schedule and budget goals. Facilities of this nature typically take about three years to complete; ShoWare took 27 months from start to finish.  The City of Kent recognizes Wood Harbinger's mechanical design, stating that it "supported the City's commitment to green building and fiscally responsible facility construction."