Project Description
Omega is the first project in the world to achieve both ‘Living’ Status and LEED Platinum.
In 2006, the Omega Institute commissioned BNIM to design a new highly sustainable wastewater filtration facility with a strong educational component focused on water. The project replaces the current wastewater disposal system for 119 buildings on a 195-acre campus in Rhinebeck, New York by using biological methods of treatment via an Eco Machine. As part of a larger effort to educate visitors, staff and the local community on local, regional and global water issues, the project showcases this ecological system in a building that houses the primary treatment cells and a classroom/laboratory. The building received a LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and is one of the first buildings to receive certification as a Living Building.
The project is the first in the nation to receive ‘Living’ status in Living Building Challenge 1.3 and LEED Platinum certification. For information on Living Building Challenge click here. To achieve this, the process is relied on a highly collaborative team of experts in wastewater, civil, landscape, mechanical and structural design with a history of working together on high-performance buildings. Through periodic all-team meetings and on-going collaboration, the team aimed to produce a highly integrated design and ultimately highly integrated building and site, regardless of the Living Building moniker.
100% Of energy supplied by on-site renewable sources
100% Of precipitation managed on site
98% Of building is daylit
78% Of building is naturally ventilated
Net Zero Energy
Net Zero Water
Net Zero Waste