Alter Hall Sustainability Story—Part 2February 2015

A building that demonstrates human capacity for restoring the health of the environment while working, learning and growing.

As everyone on campus watched the building envelope go up on Alter Hall during the fall and winter, various constituencies on campus met many times to discuss a variety of interior and exterior components—all of which make for a good second look at the sustainability features of our newest academic building.

The southern exterior of the building along the St. Ignatius steps will capture rain from the roof of the building to support a variety of plants, including a small bog garden. Biology faculty have been included in the planning for this water feature for over a year now and four professors in five different classes have indicated an interest in using the demonstration garden as part of their class learning. Some of the possible uses include: sampling water quality at the inlet and outlet; collecting insect and plant samples for lab examination, and demonstration of a way to reduce storm water flow into the sewer system. We hope this will be the beginning of engagement with the building itself as a way to learn about a variety of disciplines, about learning itself, and our students’ and our communities’ place in the broader ecosystems.

On the east side of the building near Hailstone Hall, prairie grass similar to the prairie grass along the greensward will be planted. Our campus prairies feature little bluestem grass and a variety of shorter flowering plants to attract bees and butterflies and to maintain safe corridors for the campus.

Inside, decisions about carpet and furniture required keeping multiple priorities in mind. Look for more on these features in the final Alter Hall Sustainability Story.

As mentioned in Part 1 of this story, a series of Guiding Principles were at the foundation of planning for the new building. The table below identifies the goals for the building on the left and the ways in which these goals have been met (or in one case not been met) on the right. The building reaches a new level of green building for Xavier, satisfying the criteria of LEED gold standard. LEED is an industry standard for building sustainably. We will not have the building LEED certified because of the cost involved. Xavier has consistently chosen to use the money that might have gone to certification for building costs. This building is a significant statement of Xavier’s commitment to sustainability.

GOALS BUILDING FEATURESPrinciple 1. Educating the Whole PersonProvide an environment that contributes to rather than distracts from teaching and learning.

30 of the 33 classrooms and all of the offices have daylighting that exceed LEED gold requirements.

Provide a healthy environment with excellent air quality that promotes the wellbeing of the occupants.

The paint, furnishings, etc. are all low emission for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Operable windows allow for user control and a more intimate connection with the outdoors. The air handling system not only energy efficient, it provides much greater outdoor airflow than the original systems.

Include welcoming spaces and space for prayer and meditation in physical and visual proximity to plants and natural settings.

All the outdoor landscaping will be composed of native, drought-hardy plants. A rain garden and bog garden along the St. Ignatius steps will provide running water and a variety of plant life.

Provide inspiration to the human spirit and restoration to our broken world through innovative design that embodies a harmonious relationship between humans and creation.

Many of the features mentioned above will contribute to restoring links between humans and creation—operable windows, native plants, daylighting, etc.

Principle 2. Goals for right relationship and responsible stewardship

of natural and financial resourcesProduce as much or more energy as consumed through innovative combinations of sustainable technologies (including but not limited to energy-efficient design, geothermal heating and cooling and solar energy).

It was determined that given the high efficiency of the Central Utility Plant that serves Alter Hall, investing in alternative forms of energy for the building was not feasible.

Protect the environment and conserve natural resources through the use of recycled or recyclable materials and reuse of building water and other materials that flow through the building

The energy used by this building is projected to be near 40kbtu/sf annually. This figure is in less than half of the average building on campus and is in line with some of the most energy efficient buildings in the country or 35-40% below the industry benchmark.

Optimize financial resources by maximizing the lifespan of the facility through a design that is both durable and flexible.

The renovation is designed to support the academic mission by using durable materials for a minimum of fifty years.

Principle 3. The built environment will contribute to the health and well-being of Xavier’s neighborhood, city, and region, including greater biodiversity, a deeper understanding of culture and place, and additional outlets for beauty and personal expression.Foster human movement to and from the building through accessible paths and bike routes with close connections to public transit.

Access and egress to and from the building to campus has been greatly enhanced on both ends of the building. Additional bike racks will be installed as well. Shower facilities will also be available for bikers needing a place to bath after a long commute.

Contribute to the betterment of our city and region by modeling excellent application of cutting-edge sustainable design that others can emulate.

The building will utilize 100% LED lighting. And for a workhorse building, extremely efficient in terms of water and energy use.

Serve as a campus hub that nurtures and develops community with equitable distribution of resources and opportunities.

Alter Hall has been carefully designed to meet present and projected needs, to not duplicate spaces available elsewhere on campus and has made use of locally-produced materials and recycled most of the waste.

Provide welcoming sightlines to and from the building, local neighborhood and campus.

The building occupies a central place on campus without being overstated. Sightlines from the building interior have been greatly

improved.

Our next part of the story will involve all the users of the building. It is important that everyone on campus understand how the building functions so that they can advance the work of the Alter Hall Renovation Team and help make this the greenest building on campus and one of the most energy efficient buildings on any academic campus!

ART members: Lynda Kilbourne, co-chair, Bob Sheeran, co-chair, James Snodgrass, Gary Lewandowski, Annette Marksberry, Shelly Webb, Steve Herbert, Shannon Byrne, Kathleen Smythe

Sustainability advisory group: Victoria Mairal-Cruz, Alexandra James, and John Herrick (sustainability student interns), Ann Dougherty, Dave Lococo, Nancy Bertaux, John Fairfield, Kathleen Smythe with help from Tim Brownlee, Elizabeth Groppe, and Hema Krishnan