Oregon Organization Invests in Green Building Research

The Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST) has facilitated a $1.6 million investment in green building research at two Oregon universities that positions the state to establish a national research center.

The investment, at both Oregon State University and Portland State University, funds a network of new, shared laboratories and equipment for development and testing new green building materials, technologies and entire buildings.

Oregon BEST used a portion of its public funding to align additional investment from the Engineering and Technology Industry Council (ETIC), the Miller Foundation Grant Fund at PSU, the Oregon University System and university research offices. Future plans call for expanding the network of Oregon BEST research facilities to other university partners, including the University of Oregon and the Oregon Institute of Technology.

The OSU portion of the investment is $920,000, including $400,000 from Oregon BEST, $470,000 from Certificates of Participation (via ETIC), and $50,000 from the OSU Research Office. It establishes the Oregon BEST Green Building Materials Laboratory at OSU, a collaboration between the College of Engineering and the OSU College of Forestry. Research in the shared facility, which will be accessible to and open for research by industry partners, will focus on innovating new green building materials, including: hybrid poplar wood, new types of concrete and pavement that are more durable and environmentally friendly and recycled plastics used as building insulation.

At PSU, the total investment is $651,000, with $218,000 from Oregon BEST, $351,000 from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation (via PSU's Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices) and $82,000 from the Oregon University System.

The funding will establish the Oregon BEST Green Building Research Laboratory at PSU, where researchers from other OUS institutions and industry can use a suite of infrared cameras and thermal characterization equipment to test everything from green roofs and window glazings to interior moisture levels and a building’s surface temperatures. When the equipment is used in conjunction with other federally funded research projects, it will facilitate a broader investigation of the impact of buildings on the urban environment.

Housed in a new LEED Gold building at PSU, the lab will also feature sensing and logging capabilities that can monitor indoor environmental quality and track how buildings respond to a range of activities and conditions, including how occupant behavior impacts building energy use. Some of the sensing equipment will be available to be loaned to industry partners to do onsite testing of new materials and technologies.

More information is available at www.oregonbest.org.