“This is our first LEED building and it shows our commitment to taking care of the environment and caring about our building’s occupants,” said Project Sustainability Manager Rex Harrell about the Archdale Hall renovation.The U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC), a non-profit corporation out of Washington D.C., developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. It is a point system of building codes; each code requirement earns the project a point.
The LEED checklist is used during the planning and the building of a project. When the project is completed it is submitted to the USGBC for review and certification. “It could take anywhere up to a year to get the certification process finished,” Harrell said.
The Archdale Hall project has a goal set to earn 39 of those points. The silver certification requires 33 to 38 points, the gold certification starts at 39.
“Everyone that does these projects plans on losing two or three of those points for something.” Harrell said. “That is why you will find silver certified on the sign.”
Harrell is studying for the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) examination. “Hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “You have to know every code off the top of your head.” The project qualifies for another point if the project manager is a LEED AP.
Buildings earn LEED points from five categories: sustainable sites and water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, innovation and design, and indoor environmental quality.
Archdale also needed updates and repair due to its age. The structural wood frame of Archdale Hall was built in the 1870s and the wood beams suffered termite damage.
“If it hadn’t been done, this building would have started crumbling to the ground,” said general contractor of Lomax Construction Mike King.
“I could reach my hand through the holes in the floor, and touch the beam and it would crumble apart in my hand,” King said.
Along with new support beams, the building received some state of the art products: a triple filtered ionized rain water system, a Mitsubishi Split-Ductless heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, digital environment controls in each office, motion-sensing T5 full spectrum lighting, and wiring with cat6 for gigabit Ethernet and a wireless public network.
The heat, light, and motion sensing digital switches are mounted on the stripped down and newly refinished original plaster walls including the solid wood wainscoting and chair-rails found under the 1960s paneling.
The Beech hardwood floors are original materials that were also restored for a materials and resourses point. All of the other added solid wood, including doors and custom-milled bookcases for faculty offices, is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.
Most of the Archdale faculty and staff temporarily relocated to cubicles in 109 King Hall.
Another less known live-in member of Archdale Hall, Archie the groundhog, has been missing since the start of the renovation project.
Renovations are expected to be completed by fall break.