Seattle Aquarium
Aquarium in Seattle, WA · 1421 ALASKAN WAY · 98101
At a glance
Seattle Aquarium is a 53,365-square-foot aquarium building at 1421 ALASKAN WAY in Seattle, Washington, built in 1980. In its 2025 Seattle benchmarking disclosure it reported a site energy-use intensity of 164.8 kBtu/ft² and 172 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions.
Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920) · reporting year 2025
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | — |
| Site EUI | 164.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 403.8 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 172 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 2.5 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 2,682,220 kWh |
| Natural gas | 22,848 therms |
| Gross floor area | 53,365 sq ft |
| Source record | seattle:317:2025 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025latest | — | 164.8 kBtu/ft² | 172 tCO₂e | |
| 2024 | — | 202.0 kBtu/ft² | 254 tCO₂e | |
| 2023 | — | 208.7 kBtu/ft² | 254 tCO₂e | |
| 2022 | — | 233.5 kBtu/ft² | 304 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | 228.4 kBtu/ft² | 312 tCO₂e | |
| 2020 | — | 210.1 kBtu/ft² | 262 tCO₂e | |
| 2019 | — | 235.8 kBtu/ft² | 303 tCO₂e | |
| 2018 | — | 235.2 kBtu/ft² | 307 tCO₂e | |
| 2017 | — | 235.6 kBtu/ft² | 301 tCO₂e | |
| 2016 | — | 213.7 kBtu/ft² | 289 tCO₂e | |
| 2015 | — | 225.8 kBtu/ft² | 291 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920)
Seattle's Building Emissions Performance Standard (adopted 2023) applies to buildings over 20,000 sq ft: benchmarking verification is due 2027–2030 and initial emissions targets 2031–2035, reaching net zero by 2041–2050, with fines for non-compliance.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 1421 ALASKAN WAY
- City
- Seattle
- State
- Washington
- ZIP
- 98101
- Coordinates
- 47.60729, -122.34211
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- Russell Investments Centerscore 92
Office · 1,592,914 sq ft
- Us Bank Centerscore 87
Office · 1,536,606 sq ft
Office · 1,527,817 sq ft
- Amazon Doppler Buildingscore 90
Office · 1,496,961 sq ft
Office · 1,413,575 sq ft
- 999 Third Avescore 88
Office · 1,323,055 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Seattle · biggest emitters
How does Seattle Aquarium compare with other buildings in Seattle?
The latest disclosures cover 3,871 benchmarked buildings in Seattle. Its site EUI of 164.8 kBtu/ft² is about 246% above the average of 47.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 2.5 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 148% above the group average of 1.0 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 53,365 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 112,467 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1980, 5 years later than the group's average year built (1975).
How has Seattle Aquarium's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Seattle Aquarium, covering report years 2015–2025. Site EUI moved from 225.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 164.8 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 27% decrease. Reported emissions went from 291 tCO₂e to 172 tCO₂e over the same span (down 41%).
What does a site EUI of 164.8 kBtu/ft² mean?
Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Seattle Aquarium's 164.8 kBtu/ft² across 53,365 sq ft works out to about 8.8 billion Btu (2,577 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 403.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,682,220 kWh of electricity and 22,848 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Seattle Aquarium to report its energy use?
Seattle Aquarium reports under the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920), the legal basis of Seattle's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2025 disclosure (source record seattle:317:2025). Seattle's Building Emissions Performance Standard (adopted 2023) applies to buildings over 20,000 sq ft: benchmarking verification is due 2027–2030 and initial emissions targets 2031–2035, reaching net zero by 2041–2050, with fines for non-compliance.
More aquarium buildings in Seattle
Frequently asked questions
What is Seattle Aquarium's energy grade?
Seattle Aquarium did not report an ENERGY STAR score in its 2025 disclosure, but its site energy-use intensity was 164.8 kBtu/ft².
How much energy does Seattle Aquarium use?
Its 2025 site energy-use intensity was 164.8 kBtu/ft² (403.8 kBtu/ft² source) across 53,365 sq ft, including 2,682,220 kWh of electricity and 22,848 therms of natural gas.
What are Seattle Aquarium's carbon emissions?
Seattle Aquarium reported 172 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (2.5 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2025.
Where is Seattle Aquarium?
Seattle Aquarium is at 1421 ALASKAN WAY, in Seattle, Washington 98101. Its coordinates are 47.60729, -122.34211 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Seattle Aquarium and when was it built?
Seattle Aquarium has 53,365 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2025 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1980 as its year built. It is classed as aquarium.
Is Seattle Aquarium covered by the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920)?
Yes — it appears in the 2025 Building Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920).
Working with Seattle building benchmarking records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.
About this data
Source: Building Energy Benchmarking (Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920)), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Seattle Aquarium, Seattle, Washington — 2025 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/seattle/seattle-aquarium-da60baed (data as of October 2, 2026).