North America’s Most Sustainable Building – The Catalyst Building – Welcomes Occupants

The five-story Catalyst Building, in Spokane Washington, is one of North America’s most sustainable buildings and opened for occupancy on September 17th, 2020. Built by Katerra, it features some 4,000 cubic meters of locally sourced timber. The site is the first office building in Washington state to be constructed from environmentally friendly cross-laminated timber. The latter comprises glued and layered wood where each panel is positioned perpendicular to the previous to boost tensile and compressive strength. In addition, the Catalyst Building and the nearby Scott Morris Center for Energy Innovation are the first structures in the new South Landing eco-district to operate on a shared-energy model. The buildings are able to communicate with each other to manage electricity demand, generation and storage throughout the day. The Catalyst Building also has a grey-water system for rainwater recovery, low-water-flow plumbing, and shower rooms to encourage bike commutes.