The first urban building of its kind and commonly regarded as ‘the greenest office building in the world’— not only represents the level of sustainability possible in a city setting, it signifies a shift in the actual process of how buildings are designed and demonstrates the range of opportunities for inventiveness and creativity that are possible when integrated design teams target aggressive efficiency goals.

Certified as LEED Gold, the school includes photovoltaic panels and fans, a green roof, natural ventilation, green furniture and a sustainable land management plan. As a complement to its sustainable features, a curriculum has been developed by the faculty to use the building as a teaching tool for sustainability and energy conservation. A prominent meter wall is located in the building with educational text and graphics where students can chart the building's water, gas, electric and solar power usage.

The University of Washington Conibear Shellhouse Renovation and Addition completed construction in April 2005. The site, once on the edge of a city dump, is surrounded by newly restored wetlands with pathways that link to an existing nature walk providing public access to the shoreline. The renovation retained the structural steel frame from the original 1949 building at the 11,000 s.f. shell storage bays, and demolished the remainder.

Miller Hull worked closely with the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation and the Discovery Park Advisory Committee to ensure that this center fulfills its mission and promotes a genuine appreciation of this very special natural resource. Public activities within the center will take place in the exhibit space off the lobby, Discovery Room (for children), classrooms, a multipurpose room, and an outdoor gathering porch and its adjacent "green."

The new pavilion is over 14,000 S.F. of flat floor exhibition space with nearly twenty feet clear height intended for a wide variety of festivals, conferences, exhibitions and catered events. The unit pavers covering the 19,000 S.F. Rooftop Plaza, which is accessible on grade from the adjacent street, are designed in a pixilated matrix pattern to simulate an image of water droplets in a pond when viewed from the Space Needle above. Two concrete “pylons” with glazed canopies – designed to accommodate elevators and mechanical equipment – mark the entries into and onto the building.

Located on a spectacular site on Cougar Mountain, the school commands sweeping views of the Puget lowlands. Such a unique setting led Miller Hull to focus on two traditional strengths emphasizing the relationship between building and landscape, and practicing environmentally progressive design. Both the construction of the buildings and the utilization of the land around them are, in this way, seen as an extension of the school’s educational mission.

The three story building mass is configured to engage the main arterial in the area, Newport Way. The north-south oriented building screens the 100 car parking area from passing vehicles on Newport Way. Pedestrians and bicyclists using the planned bike trail on Newport Way can view the activities going on inside the building, a rare occurrence in this suburban business office zone. A preserved wetland on the east edge of the property can be viewed from the office space on all three floors as well as from the building's board room and staff lounge.

Design issues included the desire to fit the 24,000 s.f. building into a mostly residential scaled street, and to respond to the local vernacular architectural character. In addition, there were strong public sentiments that the building not be an expensive monument, yet still have a strong civic presence.