vanReken Sustainable Design

• Site design attributes such as:
  • No expansion of parking surfaces
  • Opportunities for Alternative Transportation such as via Bicycles
  • Maximization of open space
  • Integrated storm water management
  • Heat reflective roof
  • Reduced Light Pollution
• Water efficient landscaping
• Water Use Reduction
• Improved building energy performance (11%)
  
  • Increased thickness of Roof Insulation
  • Energy efficient windows
  • Exterior Wall insulation
  • Heat reflective white roof
• Construction Waste Management
  • Separation of construction waste
  • Recycling of specific types of construction waste
• Materials with Recycled Content
• Regionally provided Materials
  
  • Locally provided brick and concrete block
  • Regionally provided precast concrete plank
• Natural Ventilation
• Daylight Views in 90% of building spaces
• Sustainable Design innovations:
  • Forestry Rehabilitation (Calvin Biology Dept.)
  • Geothermal Test Suite (Student Learning Project)

Unfortunately, we learned during the development of this project that the LEED sustainability requirements had changed. The new Requirements (LEED v2.2) included a requirement of at least two points in the Energy and Atmosphere Credit to Optimize Energy performance. This meant a minimum Energy Performance improvement of 14%. Given the restrictive nature of the design intending to be similar to the existing dorms, the improvements could only reach an 11% improvement, not achieving the 14% threshold.