Page 677 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

it maximizes indoor air quality with a state-of-the-art ventila-
tion system, as well as paints, adhesives, and carpeting that
emit few volatile organic compounds. The structure is powered
largely by solar energy from photovoltaic (PV) panels on the
roof, active solar heating, and passive solar heating from south-
facing walls of glass and a tiled slate floor that acts as a thermal
mass (p. 606). Over 150 sensors throughout the building moni-
tor conditions such as temperature and air quality.
Bren Hall at the University of Santa Barbara in California
(Figure 24.6b) uses an innovative and efficient heating and
cooling system integrated with solar panels and white roofing
material to reflect sunlight. The structural steel and other mate-
rials in the building are composed of 40% recycled content,
and over 90% of construction waste was recycled. The build-
ing contains no formaldehyde, asbestos, or CFCs, and other
toxic substances are kept to a minimum. Bren Hall conserves
water with low-flow fixtures, waterless urinals, reclaimed
water for toilets, and automatic sensors. Sustainable materials
(a) Lewis Center at Oberlin and approaches added only 2% to the $26 million construc-
tion cost, and this added cost is easily being recovered through
energy savings.
The demand for “green buildings” is growing fast. More
than one-third of schools responding to a 2008 survey had at
least one LEED-certified building or retrofit, and over half
planned to pursue them in the future. Butler University in Indi-
ana even has a LEED-certified fraternity house. The University
of Florida has built or started construction on 18 green build-
ings since 2003. Pacific Union College in California is seek-
ing to build an entire “ecovillage” of dorms designed for
sustainability. At Catawba College in North Carolina, students
convinced their board of trustees to commit to construct only
sustainable buildings.
Sustainable architecture doesn’t stop at a building’s
walls. The landscaping around the Kirsch Center and around
Bren Hall each features drought-tolerant native plants that
require little watering. Oberlin’s Lewis Center is set among
orchards, gardens, and a restored wetland that helps filter
wastewater, and with urban agriculture and lawns of grass
specially bred to require less chemical care. Careful design
of campus landscaping can create livable spaces that pro-
mote social interaction and where plantings supply shade,
prevent soil erosion, create attractive settings, and provide
wildlife habitat. It has been said, in fact, that groundskeep-
ers are more vital to colleges’ recruiting efforts than are vice
(b) Bren Hall at UC Santa Barbara presidents!
Figure 24.6 Green buildings are becoming numerous on
American campuses. Two of the earliest and best known are
(a) Oberlin College’s Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Water conservation is important
Studies and (b) Bren Hall at the University of Santa Barbara, Conserving water is a key element of sustainable campuses—
California.
especially in arid regions, as students at the University of
Arizona in Tucson know. Despite Tucson’s dry desert climate,
One of the first green buildings on a college campus was rain falls in torrents during the late-summer monsoon season,
the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at when water pours off paved surfaces and surges down riv-
Oberlin College in Ohio (Figure 24.6a). This building was con- erbeds, causing erosion, carrying pollution, and flowing too
structed using materials that were recycled or reused, took little swiftly to sink into the ground and recharge aquifers. So UA
energy to produce, or were locally harvested, produced, or dis- students sought to redirect these floodwaters and put them to
tributed. Carpeting materials are leased and then returned to the use. With the help of a grant written by Dr. James Riley and
company for recycling when they wear out. The Lewis Center student Chet Phillips, the group created an independent study
676 contains energy-efficient lighting, heating, and appliances, and course to design and implement a rainwater harvesting project

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