NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.—Rutgers University, which has resided along the Raritan River since 1766, is older than the United States itself, and thus has had quite some time to build up its library. Now, in the 21st century, the university has added a digital library to complement its rather extensive collection of books.

General contractor Unity Construction Services worked in conjunction with design firm Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc., to construct the Digital Learning Commons at the Rutgers University Archibald S. Alexander Library, the oldest and most extensive of the libraries at the main campus in New Brunswick. The Alexander Library supports 16 doctoral programs as well as four professional schools.

In an era of digital openness, Spiezle’s architectural design aims for an “open concept” so as to be welcoming for all manner of visitors. Accordingly, it features areas dedicated to group meetings, studying and research—and with sound barriers and moveable seating areas for either collaborative or silent study. Spiezle applied a color scheme featuring natural, bright tones meant to be a natural addition to the sunlight allowed in through the library’s many windows.

The 16,000-square-foot space also offers meeting rooms, computer labs as well as rooms set up specifically for video conferencing and digital presentations. Spiezle’s designers applied a pinwheel configuration so that everyone can see everyone else during a group meeting.

“Our design vision focused on creating an open and inviting environment that integrated a variety of technology and services, while at the same time capitalizing on the existing physical qualities of the space—which included high ceilings, dynamic views, and natural light,” John Wright, principal of higher education at Spiezle, said in a recent statement. “Improving the student experience was at the forefront of every decision. Now more than ever, it is crucial to create responsive and adaptable learning spaces, focused on student and faculty wellbeing, that support and promote the diverse offerings that truly define the Rutgers experience.”

Wright added that his firm was proud to help the Alexander Library transition into a paradigm that will see a hybrid of both digital study as well as the older method of researching through printed material.

“It is a physical manifestation of a truly holistic and collaborative planning and design effort. We would not have achieved such success without the dedication and contributions of the University project team as well as all involved in the construction,” Wright said. “The Digital Learning Commons have already become a feature destination standout on the College Avenue campus and will inspire social and educational advancement for decades to come.”

Spiezle Architectural Group was founded in 1954, and their portfolio includes healthcare, corporate, hospitality, senior living and government projects.

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PISCATAWAY, N.J.—Completed in August 2018, the Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering at Rutgers University on the Busch campus, has recently received LEED Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The 106,000-square-foot, four-story facility offers a state-of-the-art learning and research spaces designed to bring students, faculty and industry together to pursue new solutions and technologies in the areas of sustainability, energy, and advanced manufacturing.

“This building demonstrates the University’s commitment to sustainability and will serve as a benchmark for future projects. The School of Engineering has a modern facility that promotes the building as a working lab, actively engaging students in discovering innovative solutions that will transform the field of engineering and manufacturing on a local and global scale,” says Gregg Bergmiller, LEED AP, a sustainability coordinator of The S/L/A/M Collaborative.

This recognition acknowledges the many sustainable design features that are incorporated into Weeks Hall’s innovative learning environment, including: Energy cost savings of 29% through solar orientation and superior envelop design; Mechanical systems include active chilled beams, ventilation with 100% outdoor air with energy recovery wheel and demand control by occupancy and carbon dioxide sensors; Energy efficient LED lighting with automatic lighting control utilizing daylight photo and occupancy sensors; A 38% reduction of potable water use; The diversion of 97% of construction waste from landfills.

Weeks Hall of Engineering is an open and flexible facility that features flexible learning laboratories for advanced manufacturing and sustainable resources and systems. The students have hands-on access to facilities dedicated to rapid prototyping, pilot manufacturing, urban and coastal water systems, intelligent transportation systems, and more. The building includes three smart classrooms, collaborative workspace, dedicated student space, and advanced technology integration.

The New Jersey Advanced Manufacturing Institute (NJAMI), established by Rutgers, also has dedicated space in the facility to distinguish and elevate the state’s historic manufacturing profile. Students have the resources to develop and test innovative devices in areas of information technology, renewable energy, sensing devices, and health life sciences.

The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) is a national, fully integrated, multi-disciplinary architecture firm offering architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture and site planning, structural engineering and construction services that focuses on higher education, K-12 public/private education, healthcare and corporate market, athletic and recreation sectors.

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According to a master plan released on the university’s website, the initiative, entitled Rutgers 2030, is a comprehensive re-envisioning of the campus that includes recommendations for “the functional, physical and psychological connections within and between campus districts as well as to the surrounding community and natural ecosystem.”

Rutgers also plans to update its transit student centers, housing, athletics facilities and on-campus transit hubs in an earth-friendly manner within the next 15 years.

“As far as construction, we adhere to the U.S. Green Building Council’s guidelines for LEED-rated Silver buildings, which are integrated into our design standards and construction guidelines, and collectively serve to reduce our overall carbon footprint,” said Frank Wong, assistant vice president of University Facilities and Capital Planning to the Daily Targum, a local news service. “We source materials within a 500-mile radius, and seek to use recycled materials in construction.”

As Wong explained, the university, which was originally founded as Queen’s College in pre-revolution 1766, has committed to installing 33 acres of solar panels on campus as well as promoting a variety of carbon-neutral transportation alternatives like bicycling. Moreover, initiatives are afoot to better use open space adjacent to nearby Raritan River.

The university sought input from a broad array of stakeholders while devising Rutgers 2030. About 8,000 members of the surrounding community were surveyed, likewise, more than 30 presentations and town hall meetings were conducted. Ditto meetings with administrators, faculty and groups, including the University Committee for Sustainability, which includes student representation. Energy Conservation Manager Michael Kornitas continues to meet with student groups regularly as well.

Diminishing the use of fossil fuels in relation to the campus is also on the agenda. Since such energy sources produce carbon emissions, the university’s master plan outlines the redevelopment of transportation infrastructure with an emphasis on non-vehicle transportation like biking and walking to help shrink the carbon footprint.

The master plan consulting team included New York-based Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Toscano Clements Taylor, Massachusetts-based Sasaki Associates and VHB, and San Francisco-based Buro Happold.

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“The project establishes Rutgers culturally as an anchor tenant in the 500,000-square-foot reincarnation of Hahne & Co., host and home to the arts in Newark,” said Jason Chmura, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, associate for Princeton, N.J.-based KSS Architects, the architect on the project. “The environment seeks to cultivate local artistic expression that resonates globally by facilitating public scholarship and community engagement, opening a new chapter in the diverse city’s cultural history.”

The new 50,000-square-foot Express Newark serves as an anchor in the historic building’s development, helping to enhance the city’s Arts Triangle that is currently bringing creativity and vibrancy back to the urban core. Express Newark includes a maker space, print shop, photo studio, two galleries, production studio, digital media and 3D printing, classrooms and editing labs, conference rooms and offices. Architectural partitions snake through the rigid existing column grid to make the space inviting and exciting for the community, according to Jordan Mrazik, RA, project architect for KSS Architects. In fact, community members can join in on weekly Art Break sessions that range from origami 101 to lectures on jazz music.

“Express Newark provides state-of-the-art interdisciplinary public learning spaces where artists, community residents and community partners will create visual, spoken word and electronic arts; foster democratic dialogue; and effect positive transformation,” Chmura said. “All the collaborations, experimentation and innovation are done in partnership with Rutgers faculty, staff and students.”

The lobby circulates around past amphitheater stairs to public forums, classes and photo shoots, while the monumental staircase also opens up the upper floors. The wooden amphitheater seating adds to the space as well, bringing an iconic lobby element that continues to enhance engagement and community. Additional combinations of flexible and fixed seating throughout the space give users the option to lounge, work or wait. Large-scale graphics, signage and displays further draw users into the many program elements, according to Chmura.

Another major space is the second-floor Newark Print Shop, which hosts an open Print Club every Wednesday for aspiring printmakers. Key to the print shop as a community tenant was visibility into and through from the main lobby, with space on walls for rotating art exhibitions, according to Mrazik. Its prime location near the entrance or building atrium puts the print shop’s activities on display for passersby, added Chmura.

“The team also planned for murals on the wall, celebrating work by local artists that represent the spirit of the print shop,” Chmura said.

One challenge the design team faced included designing within the historic building’s rigid existing structure. The team had to get especially creative when designing enough room for the heavy-duty letterpress machines and behind-the-scenes storage space necessary for the print shop.

The project was unique in that it was a multifaceted partnership between institution, developer, faculty and staff, architects, community residents, businesses and artists. “This project was the first time so many users from various places were coming together,” Chmura added. “The design process had to unify the voice all under the traditional project stakeholders and institutional process.”

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As the race to see who can create the greenest school continues, School Construction News spoke with Jason Chmura, AIA, LEED AP, an associate at Princeton, N.J.-headquartered KSS Architects, about his work as a leader of the firm’s Sustainability Design Practice Group. In a slew of recent projects, Chmura pushed for advancements in building performance, equipment, and energy use in both K-12 and higher education projects. Here he discusses current trends and advantages to building green.

Q: What sustainable educational facility projects are you currently working on?

Chmura: We recently completed a facility for the Gottesman RTW Academy in Randolph. The project featured site-harvested stone, sunshades, photovoltaic panels and rain gardens. It features a number of monitoring systems that help frame the curriculum for Pre-K-8 students. We have a grand opening for Rutgers University’s Express Newark facility in Newark, N.J., next week, which is a 43,000-square-foot reuse of a 100-plus-year-old department store in downtown Newark. The project is significant as to its social sustainability, whereupon the symbiotic uses of the building as commercial, educational and residential will contribute to its long-term success and reactivation of the neighborhood.

We also wrapped up a 120,000-square-foot charter school for KIPP New Jersey also in Newark this September, which implemented a substantial energy recovery system as part of the HVAC design. This had immense cost savings for the project in addition to contributing to the efficiency of the building. There were savings both to the mechanical and plumbing systems as a result, but also the structural system(s) as we significantly decreased the sizes of the rooftop units.

Currently, I am overseeing the rehab of a 100-year-old former trolley barn to serve as a new gymnasium, which again reuses an existing, aging structure to provide new facilities for a school. The project features porous (pervious concrete) for stormwater control and a (Kalwall) panelized insulated glazing system.

Q: How do these projects reflect the national trend of building educational facilities to be more environmentally sustainable?

Chmura: If I had to speak to a trend, I would note the increase in the reuse of existing structures, especially in an urban environment. A component of the LEED rating system since its inception, building reuse is an often-overlooked attribute with huge potential. Not only are you decreasing (eliminating) landfill waste, you stand to reinvigorate and activate sites and buildings that may be standing vacant. Further, many of our clients are actually looking beyond the cost savings — which are often in favor of new construction — to find sites that will both benefit from development and help support the mission of the school.

Q: What key advantages do schools have when they are built to sustainable standards?

Chmura: When the standards are implemented to prescribe occupant comfort or wellness, it’s a no-brainer. There are plenty of studies that link student participation, faculty performance and overall achievement with healthy learning environments. Additionally, when the design and technology that are part of sustainable design are analyzed and become part of the curriculum, it has an effect on the students like nothing else.

Q: What are the top three sustainable-building recommendations you have for schools that want to be more efficient on a budget?

Chmura: Integrate daylight harvesting and energy recovery systems, and use salvaged or reused materials.

Q: What do you believe is the future of sustainable educational facility projects?

Chmura: The most successful educational facilities will rely on heavy incorporation of high-performance technology into their curriculum. The next generation of students will continue to crave hands-on learning experiences. Sustainable design will become a necessity, and young minds will thrive in an environment where they are fully immersed in their own laboratory throughout the day.

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