NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt University’s Engineering and Science Building has been awarded LEED Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Located at Garland Street and 25th Avenue, the 230,000-square-foot structure is home to both the Engineering and Science Building, which includes laboratories, classrooms and a state-of-the-art clean room, and Vanderbilt’s Innovation Pavilion, which includes the Wond’ry and its makerspace.

“Receiving gold status shows we are on the right path when we carry out building and renovating on campus,” said Mike Perez, associate vice chancellor of administration for facilities. “Making sure we are approaching these projects with long-term sustainability in mind has been a significant shift since the launch of FutureVU.”

The building opened its doors during the 2016-17 academic year, and includes laboratories, classrooms and a state-of-the-art cleanroom that houses both faculty and student learning and innovation. Its lighting saves energy through LED bulbs as well as occupancy sensors allowing lights to be off except where people are working.

“The Engineering and Science Building is a game-changer for our research enterprise. Its systems enable us to conduct more sensitive experiments,” said Philippe M. Fauchet, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering. “Adding the LEED Gold distinction just reaffirms our commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable building practices.”

The Engineering and Science Building houses the university’s most energy-efficient lab space. During the initial design phase of the building, 3D modeling was used to evaluate conditions of the site such as orientation, heat gain from windows, natural light, and others to ensure optimized design.

“Our goal was to be very thoughtful in the materials used and how we could make sure this building lasts for generations of scholars,” said University Architect Keith Loiseau. “Balancing the tremendous energy needs of the building’s features with our university’s goals of responsible environmental design was the biggest challenge we faced.”

Other green design elements that helped the building achieve its LEED status include:

• Twenty-foot-tall enthalpy wheels to transfer heat and humidity, conditioning the fresh air intake with exhaust air leaving the building
• Chilled beams supplied by hot and cold water used to condition spaces which is more efficient than conditioning with air systems
• A 10,000-gallon cistern to capture rain water for irrigation
• Sunshading frit on glass to optimize natural solar light and to also help prevent bird strikes
• Flexibility of design to allow different lab-type use over time as well as lab renovations without major mechanical systems rework
• Cleanroom energy reduction through occupancy and particle sensors to decrease system use when not needed

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ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown School District (ASD) officials recently broke ground on a new elementary school and community building designed by locally based architectural firm Breslin Ridyard Fadero Architects.

Serving most of the city of Allentown, ASD is the fourth-largest school district in Pennsylvania, with 16,628 students spread across three high schools, four middle schools and 15 elementary schools according to 2016-2017 enrollment numbers in ASD’s District Data Snapshot.

This project consists of a new 114,000-square-foot elementary school that will house approximately 875 students from kindergarten through fifth grade, and staff from Cleveland and McKinley elementary schools. The south entrance to the school fronts West Gordon Street and accommodates a dedicated bus drop-off and pick-up zone for eight buses. The north entrance accommodates a dedicated parent drop-off for 20 cars surrounding a parking area built for 79 vehicles. Both entrances access a common lobby that connects the school’s two distinct components: a four-story academic wing and a two-story core facility containing the multi-purpose room, stage, kitchen and music room on the main floor, with the library and art room above.

A two-story 10,000-square-foot community service building is attached to the western end of the academic wing and will house pre-K classrooms, an adult education meeting room, food pantry and potential health services space.

The project’s educational goals align with ASD’s strategic framework and 21st century learning initiatives. Equity of access, safety, personalized learning, collaboration, and technology integration are core values expressed in the school’s design. With a variety of spaces scaled for differently sized small and large group instruction, the building becomes a flexible teaching tool encouraging learning outside the classroom, supporting current styles and future changes in education delivery. Site amenities include a playground that will be available for community use.

WFMZ reports that the district hopes to open doors to the new school in June 2020 that will welcome extra students overcrowded at Ramos and Central elementary schools, and serve as a public space for community gatherings.

“That community building will be able to provide a food bank, it will also provide a health services aspect and then the second floor of the community house will hold a preschool,” said Thomas Smith, director of facility services for Allentown School District, to WFMZ.

A report from WFMZ contributed to this story.

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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology recently announced that it received a $15 million lead gift from an anonymous donor to support construction of a new academic building that will provide collaboration workspaces, design studios, flexible classrooms, chemistry laboratories and faculty innovation spaces.

The anonymous donation will fund over half of the $29 million building that is set to open for the 2021-22 school year.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new building will be held during the college’s homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 6.

The building was designed by RATIO Architects, and its architecture will have a central atrium and lots of interior and exterior glass to let in light and showcase the work taking place within, making it a “window into Rose” concept that showcases curricular innovation, laboratory activities and collaboration of students, faculty and staff members.

“The design of this new academic building reflects our focus on active engagement in learning within a collaborative, mentoring environment,” said Rose-Hulman President Jim Conwell.

“We’re grateful to our lead donor for supporting our vision for science, engineering and math education, and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as a result of this generous gift.”

Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Rose-Hulman has an enrollment of approximately 2,200 undergraduate students and nearly 100 graduate students.

The 60,000-square-foot, three-story building will be located on the east side of campus, between Moench Hall and Myers Hall.

The first floor of the new building will host flexible and easily adaptable design spaces for student projects and design studios for the new engineering design academic program. Students and teams will be able to utilize breakout spaces throughout the floor to collaborate on projects. Students also will have access to a prototyping laboratory, laser-cutting devices, machine tools and a woodworking shop.

Six classrooms with flexible learning spaces will be featured on the second floor, along with three breakout rooms and booths for student workspaces. Innovation spaces will allow faculty to work on research projects with students.

New state-of-the-art chemistry laboratories will provide separate spaces for instruction and hands-on learning of general, organic, analytical and physical chemistry, and undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry research with faculty.

There will be dedicated space for preparing chemistry and biochemistry experiments before moving activities to a laboratory, and facilities for faculty and students to explore edible chemistry projects. An instrument laboratory and an area for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy equipment will also be included.

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