PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Carnegie Mellon University’s new home for the Tepper School of Business was recently recognized for limiting its environmental impact in construction and operations.

The university’s first building on the David A. Tepper Quadrangle that houses the Coulter Welcome Center and the new home for the Tepper School of Business has been awarded LEED Gold certification.

The Tepper Quad construction aligns with 73 points on the LEED Gold scale that requires between 60 and 79 points.

“From the start, the Tepper Quad was planned as a green building,” said Tepper School Dean Robert Dammon. “It is gratifying that LEED has recognized the significant efforts of our planning committee with a Gold certification. We maintain our commitment to sustainable operations in our occupation of the Tepper Quad.”

The 315,000-square-foot, five-story Tepper Quad opened Sept. 13, 2018 with a price tag of $201 million. Several elements of the building construction, including a 120,000-gallon cistern to collect rainwater for reuse, were planned with LEED certification in mind.

“From the outset of the project, our goal was to achieve LEED Gold,” said Ralph Horgan, associate vice president of Campus Design and Facility Development at Carnegie Mellon. “Per the Simonds Principles, it is what we strive for on all of our new construction projects.”

Sustainability is one of several priorities outlined in the Simonds Principles, which CMU created in 2013. One innovative feature that reduced the volume of carbon in the building by about 30 percent is called “voided slab methodology.” This system involves replacing some of the concrete in floor slabs with hollow plastic balls, made from recycled plastic. The BubbleDeck technique allows lighter, thinner floor slabs, which reduces the need for structural support such as concrete caissons and steel girders. The building in the Tepper Quad space is currently the largest construction project in North America to use BubbleDeck.

The newest LEED guidelines take transportation into account, encouraging a reduction in vehicle traffic around the building by facilitating easier use of bicycles, foot traffic and public transit. During the planning process for the Tepper Quad building, Bryan Routledge, associate professor of finance at the Tepper School who co-chaired the Tepper Quad building working group, became familiar with the U.S. Department of Transportation Complete Streets initiative, an approach to designing roads that accounts for all users that includes drivers, pedestrians and bicycle riders.

“The interesting thing I found about the LEED guidelines is how much they are in line with healthy buildings,” said Routledge. “All the glass daylights much of the building. That does not just reduce the need for electricity and lights, it makes for a happy place to live.”

Routledge reported that one of the working group’s largest priorities was the atrium, a large open space in the center of the building encased in a four-story glass curtain. Such a large expanse of glass presents a significant challenge in maintaining the building’s temperature, so the Campus Design and Facility Development team found ways to mitigate the heat gain. The glass is “fritted,” which means it has a translucent ceramic coating that counteracts glare and reduces direct sunlight into the space. The floor surfaces in the atrium use radiant slabs, which incorporate pipes that circulate liquid to provide heating and cooling from below — an important strategy for a space with high ceilings.

Horgan noted that, while every recent construction project on campus including the Gates Hillman complex, Scott Hall and the Collaborative Innovation Center has earned LEED Gold status, “none of those are as large and complex as the Tepper Quad building.”

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The lined rows of plastic-topped desks of yesteryear are becoming outdated and replaced with more flexible, tech-friendly workspaces for students.

While some products like a chalkboard are becoming obsolete, what we are seeing instead are traditional classroom furnishings that are evolving to meet the changing needs of 21st century teaching and learning, said Cindy Weinschreider, director of marketing communications for Bretford Manufacturing Inc.

Bretford, headquartered in Franklin Park, Ill., is committed to adapting to the evolving classroom with tech-enabled, sustainable furniture design for learning spaces.

With extensive research on the topic of 21st century learning, Weinschreider provided five key learning concepts that are driving the transformation of classroom furniture:

Learning is Social: Simply put, we learn when we share and engage with others.
Learning is Mobile: Learning is an active pursuit, whether its with our bodies, the devices we are using or the way the furniture is set up in a room.
Learning Integrates Technology: This requires a careful understanding of the power and mobility of smart devices and how to best integrate them with the pedagogy and curriculum.
Learning Needs Context: We learn from where we are, who we are with and from those with whom we interact.
Learning is Multi-Modal: People learn in different ways and respond to many different styles.

Agility, connectivity and versatility are key to furnishing a 21st century classroom. Tables are used as opposed to desks to allow for collaboration, Weinschreider said, and now include power outlets for smart devices, which have become an integral tool for the modern classroom. It is not just classrooms that have to consider the use of furniture, but it is also important to think about the items in your house too. If you are considering purchasing new items, it may be best to look into something like furniture delivery UK to transport your items safely and easily to your house.

These products are flexible and reconfigurable depending on the needs of the classroom, Weinschreider said. Tables can be daisy chained together and put into different formations to fit the subject and the number of students in the room.

Tables, desks, high gloss tv unit, interactive whiteboards and other furniture are now equipped with wheels in order to provide mobility and easier storage, Weinschreider said.

Many new products are also in a wide range of standards and custom colors with a variety of fabrics to attune to a modern look and feel, added Weinschreider.

A certified carbon-neutral company, Bretford is one of many furniture companies that is increasing its focus on sustainability.

Many companies have taken extra measures to make sure their products are certified so they are safe for the environment and especially for the children who are in the room, Weinschreider said.

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