Bellingham Technical College’s new Perry Center for Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences has received the Northwest American Institute of Architects’ 2013 Sustainability Award.

The $4.5 million, 8,000-square-foot building, which opened last fall in Bellingham’s Maritime Heritage Park, was designed by HKP Architects of Mount Vernon, Wash.

Some of the sustainable building principles incorporated into the building’s design include using natural materials, natural ventilation, daylighting, heat-recovery ventilation, infrastructure for future solar installations, rainwater catchment and micro-hydro electrical production, as well as brownfield restoration, open space and development density credits.

The Perry Center’s design team members included Julie Blazek, Kevin Barber, Dan Welch, Joe Lambert and Matthew Kimball of HKP Architects.

The team  also included SvR Design Company (landscape), Wilson Engineering (civil), GeoEngineers (geotechnical), AHBL (structural), Notkin (mechanical), Travis Fitzmaurice Associates (electrical), The Woolzee Company (cost estimating), BrandQuery (donor recognition and interpretive signage), Adams Consulting (hardware), PBS Engineering + Environmental (hazardous materials), Equinox Research and Consulting International (archaeological), and Wetherholt & Associates (envelope consultation).

The Perry Center was built by Roosendaal-Honcoop Construction of Bellingham. It received its name from fundraising contributor Chuck Bundrant, owner of Trident Seafoods, who named the building in honor of his  friends and colleagues, Edd and Virginia Perry.