With the opening of its new Kirkland location, PCC is striving for something more than a typical shopping experience. The local grocery chain will incorporate art from local artists as part of its comprehensive approach to work toward “Living Building” status from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).
The ILFI Living Building Challenge is the most rigorous green building certification in the world, with seven categories, or “petals” of sustainability, including materials, place, beauty, water, energy, health/happiness and equity. In 2020, PCC’s Ballard location became the first grocery store in the world to be petal-certified in the first three categories; the West Seattle and Bellevue locations were petal-certified in 2021.
According to IFLI, Living Buildings are regenerative, meaning that they generate more energy than they consume. They also actively reduce their waste, recycling and reclaiming materials that otherwise would be thrown away. The buildings are also careful with their water consumption — harvesting, treating and using all the water they need.
The Kirkland location will address the petals of materials, place and beauty by showcasing local art in its design. The art will include glazed ceramic tiles on five support columns from Seattle artist Mary Iverson. Iverson’s columns will each represent a cultural community that is part of Kirkland’s makeup, including Coast Salish, Nordic, India, Japan and England. The goal behind the beauty petal is to encourage deeper connections and start conversations between shoppers, sparked by the art that surrounds them.
PCC’s Kirkland store is located near the Kirkland Performance Center on the ground floor of Boardwalk, a mixed-use development that includes luxury apartments.
PCC’s new downtown Seattle store will also feature local art, this time from Andrea M. Wilbur-Sigo of the Squaxin Island Tribe. Wilbur-Sigo is the first known woman carver in many generations of the Coast Salish style, and her carved wooden house posts will highlight the connection between people and the environment.
This article was originally posted on 425Business by John Stearns.
