During a presentation on Sunday to the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA), Associate Director Project Manager for the University Robert Schmidt announced that the new Fauver Field housing will meet national “green building” standards.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a national standard for environmentally conscious and high-performing buildings. The Fauver Field dorms will be the first buildings at Wesleyan to receive LEED certification.
“The building team and the design build selection team felt that it was a good objective to shoot towards,” Schmidt said. “Wesleyan is very proactive about environmentally sensitive design.”
According to Vice-President for Finance and Administration Marcia Bromberg, many of the most recent construction projects on campus have met most LEED standards.
“The buildings we have built or are in the process of building are LEED standards,” Bromberg said. “We’re doing all the right things anyway.”
LEED certification involves achievement of 26 points, which are awarded for various steps toward energy-efficient building, including use of recycled carpet, double-paned windows and automatic lights. The final step of the process involves hiring a LEED-certified architect engineer, which the University has not done in the past.
“Having that architect and engineer on board is what makes the difference,” Bromberg said. “We felt it was natural to put that extra bit of effort in.”
The student group Environmental Organizers Network (EON) had sent President Bennet and the Board of Trustees several essays in January expressing their desire for more energy-efficient building.
“Hearing this was a huge shock, and it was very, very exciting,” said EON member Nora Connor ’07. “It was very heartening to learn that the University and the administration is personally taking initiative on environmental issues.”
Even before EON’s efforts began plans for LEED certification were in place.
“As long as I’ve been working on this project [LEED certification] was a desire,” Schmidt said. “As of last Thanksgiving I was aware that [the Fauver Field project] was proposed to be LEED certified.”
Bromberg did, however, acknowledge the student group’s role in pushing the certification issue.
“Having them with a strong initiative had us go back and look at it one more time,” she said.
An architect for the project has not yet been chosen, though according to Schmidt the construction is still slated to begin in the fall.
“We have to have a final design established by essentially the end of May,” Schmidt said. “We have a lot of work to do to keep it on schedule.”
When the final project is completed and open for residents in fall 2005, Schmidt said it will not be noticeably different from any other building on campus.
“Most buildings you would have no idea,” he said. “Nothing is really different. It’s all behind the scenes.”
According to Connor, only one other university, Carnegie Mellon, has a LEED certified building. Schmidt added that at present one other LEED building exists in Connecticut, though others are in the application process.
“Wesleyan is above the mark as far as this goes,” Schmidt said.
According to Bromberg, LEED friendly projects and LEED certification will likely continue.
“If it goes the way we think it will, then that is something we will consider,” she said. “If not being certified we certainly would continue to do all the things that are LEED congruent anyway.”
EON members, according to Connor, are hoping this is only the beginning of a trend toward “green” buildings.
“I’m really hoping that the University will continue this pattern and use LEED standards for the University Center as well,” Connor said. “That’s something that EON will be looking at in the future years.”
Director of University Communications Justin Harmon recognized the role that EON may play in future environmental planning on campus.
“There may well be more things that we can and should do and we’re glad that EON is pushing for us to do that,” he said.
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