Big Red Going ‘Green’ for New
College of Education Building
by Tommy Newton
Western Kentucky University intends to take the LEED in environmentally friendly or “green” design for the construction of a new building for the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.
Site work is under way at Normal Drive and Regents Avenue for a new building that will replace Tate Page Hall. Construction is scheduled to begin later this fall with completion by December 2010.
“In addition to providing a new home for programs in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, this facility will be one of the first at a public university in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to strive for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which is a rating system that measures sustainable design features,” said Jeffrey C. Stivers, AIA, principal for RossTarrant Architects.
“In publicly announcing our goal to strive for LEED certification, WKU makes it known to all that we are aware of the environmental impact of our facilities and are taking steps to address these global concerns at a local level,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said. “With a large construction project like this, we feel a responsibility to be environmentally sensitive to the extent possible. We will be proud to build the first large-scale LEED certified building on a university campus in Kentucky.”
LEED, an industry standard rating system for construction developed by the United States Green Building Council, “is a system that measures the effectiveness of a building’s sustainable design features and is widely recognized as a standard of how green a building is,” Stivers said. WKU received a $35 million state project budget for the new building.
The three-story, 119,000-square foot building will include administrative and faculty offices, classrooms, conference areas, an auditorium, a media resource center, psychology research laboratories and clinic spaces. About 250 employees (including full-time faculty, staff, graduate assistants, part-time faculty) will work in the new building. The college’s academic programs serve about 3,000 students which include the largest undergraduate program, teacher education, and the third largest major, psychology.
“The design goal for the project is to enhance the quality of life, while at the same time reduce the projected depletion of natural resources and substitute less harmful products and processes from conventional ones,” said John Osborne, associate vice president for Campus Services and Facilities. “I am confident that we will achieve our goal.”
Constructing a “green” facility sends a message to future educators, alumni and friends that WKU is environmentally responsible, according to Dr. Sam Evans, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.
“WKU’s legacy is in the education of teachers,” Evans said. “Having a building that was designed with the education and preparation of education professionals in mind sends a powerful message regarding teacher education and what we’re about as a university.”
Sustainable design is important because buildings have a substantial impact on the environment, which is becoming evident in increased energy costs, dwindling natural resources and a declining natural environment, he said. According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), in the United States alone, buildings account for 12 percent of potable water consumption, 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, 30 percent of raw material use, 30 percent of waste output (136 million tons annually), 36 percent of total energy use and 70 percent of electricity consumption.
“WKU’s desire to incorporate sustainable design initiatives into this project exemplifies their role as a leader on important issues, as institutions of higher learning should be. Additionally, it also speaks to their commitment to innovation,” Stivers said.
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