Media Credit: Justin Steyer Dick O'Bryan, the project superintendent for the Academic Instruction Center, explains how the rebar will be tightened after concrete is poured, which helps support the building. [Click to enlarge]

Western took a step closer to maintaining its reputation as a "green campus" May 9.

A committee will recommend to the Board of Trustees in June increased funding for the Academic Instruction Center (AIC), under construction on south campus, so the building will meet new environmental standards.

Three AS clubs, the Students for Renewable Energy, the Emerging Green Builders club and the Huxley Chapter of Air and Waste Management, were critical of the university's Feb. 9 decision to build the AIC without meeting energy efficiency and other environment friendly design elements required by state law and promised by the university's strategic plan.

The AIC was designed before the law's environmental guidelines took affect, and Facilities Management Director Tim Wynn said meeting the standards would cost an additional $250,000.

At the Feb. 9 Board of Trustees meeting, Western junior Stacey Glenewinkel from the Emerging Green Builders club read from a letter of complaint she wrote. She told the board the AIC should meet the requirements outlined by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification enacted by Washington state in 2005.

"I thought it was a done deal after the construction award," Glenewinkel said. "I'm happy that they're listening to the students and that students aren't the only ones that see value in this."

Although AIC construction began Feb. 12, the 25-member committee wanted to see if LEED certification was still possible, Wynn said.

Wynn said Western's decision to include natural ventilation, daylighting, solar shading and other energy-efficient design elements make certification still possible.

"This is payoff for wanting LEED elements before they were required," Wynn said.

Project Manager for Planning Design and Construction Gil Aiken said in an e-mail that he began exploring LEED certification options after receiving Glenewinkel's letter.

The AIC architect, consultants, administration officials and students convened to see if anything more could be done to meet LEED standards and decided formal certification was the best approach, Aiken said.

"There was discussion about the option of increasing green aspects on the project but not pursuing formal certification," he said. "However, with formal certification, our commitment to green building technology on campus is formally demonstrated."

To get LEED certification, the AIC will need to receive at least 26 points out of a possible 69 on the LEED project checklist.

LEED guidelines are used to evaluate buildings according to energy efficiency, water use, materials selected for construction, indoor environmental quality and sustainable site selection, according to the Web site of the U.S. Green Builders Council, the creators of LEED certification.

Western's Wade King Student Recreation Center earned 26 points and LEED certification April 17, center Director Marie Sather said.

In contrast to the AIC, the recreation center was originally designed to meet certification. The AIC would undergo similar scrutiny in order to receive LEED certification.

The committee identified 33 potential points for the AIC, according to the minutes of the meeting. Twenty two of those points are likely but others required for certification still need to be examined.

"Additional points start to become very expensive and involve major changes to the design," Aiken said. "This is difficult to do once construction has begun."

Article Tools