Sustainable Narrative

“A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we consider it’s abundance not wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective.” – Cradle to Cradle

Human beings are the only creatures that take from the environment and give nothing back. Humans construct buildings, which in turn use about one-third of our total energy, two-thirds of our electricity, and one-eighth of our water in the United States. In aiming to produce a strategy of change, this building should serve as a model to the students and community and returns to the environment what it consumes. Albert Einstein stated, “ The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation.”
By following Einstein’s philosophy, this building and site should go beyond the basic recommendations of sustainable measures throughout its entire design process. It needs to consider how it uses energy, the resources it uses, the amount of waste it produces, and what it gives back to the environment, using systems of nature as a model for design work.
The American Institute of Architects believe the time for talk is over, encouraging that architecture education “…should serve as a nucleus and catalyst for sustainable exploration, experimentation, demonstration and celebration. “


Building + Site Interaction
-Small building footprint
-Utilize window placement with building orientation
-Maximize natural shading onto the building with the landscape
-Limited impervious areas
-Maximize native vegetation

Water Conservation
-Consider collecting rainwater for irrigation purposes
-Consider treating recycled water for irrigation and sewage purposes
-Low flow fixtures (sinks, toilets, and urinals)

Energy Efficiency
-Design the building to reduce the need for artificial lighting during the day
-Consider using alternative sources of renewable energy
-Artificial lighting should be motion censored or manual to reduce electricity use.

Resourceful Materials
-Use materials that contain recycled content
-Use materials that are manufactured, produced, and/or extracted locally
-Use rapidly renewable materials
-Use materials that have been approved by the USGBC, Green Seal, etc.
-Use materials manufacturers that practice post-consumer waste programs (e.g. Mohawk Carpet Companies ReCover program)

Healthy Indoor Environmental Air Quality
-Non-smoking facility with a smoking area located 25 feet away from all openings and operable windows
-Design individual lighting systems to be individually controlled
-Use low emitting paints, adhesives, carpet, wood, etc.
-Provide operable windows to provide passive ventilation
-Ventilate necessary areas (e.g. Computer labs, printing stations, workshops)

Waste
-Provide a location for composting to reduce amount of waste sent to landfills
-Provide a location for recycling appropriate materials from building’s users
-Overall goal: Generate less waste