Shoreline Self Storage Earns LEED Certification
Shoreline Self Storage, a JMA-designed facility north of Seattle, received LEED Certification earlier this month.
“Shoreline Self Storage is the second LEED Certified self-storage facility in the State of Washington, and JMA also designed the first, Ballinger Heated Storage,” said Principal Robin Murphy. “I am so proud of our firm and the way we have enhanced the built environment for self-storage customers and their communities.”
JMA was in the process of designing the storage facility when the City of Shoreline enacted a moratorium on new self-storage developments. During the moratorium, the city elected to revise the design standards for self-storage projects and included a requirement for LEED certification.
Given this requirement, JMA reviewed the LEED scorecard to determine how best to achieve certification while maintaining the building as designed. JMA determined the best approach was to reduce energy consumption, minimize the solar heat gain of the building and reduce indoor and outdoor water consumption.
“Storage buildings are very efficient compared to other buildings of similar scale, so it was no simple task to optimize the energy performance of these lean structures,” said Designer Casey Kispert.
The project used ultra-efficient LED fixtures on occupancy sensors, provided passive cooling through thermostat activated louvers and insulated the building well above the code. To reduce the heat island effect commonly caused by urban development, the project selected roofing materials with a high albedo to reflect the incoming heat. This applied to the nearly 35,000 SF of roof area and included both a metal and TPO roofing system.
Finally, the reduction of water for both indoor and outdoor uses contributed significantly to achieving certification. Low flow fixtures and drought tolerant plant selection helped the project meet the requirements. The development accepted LEED certification on February 11th, 2021.