PORTLAND – Students taking classes in USM’s new John Mitchell Center won’t nod off in a stuffy classroom.
That’s because special sensors continuously measure the doze-inducing carbon dioxide levels in each room. When the levels reach a certain point, blasts of oxygen are delivered via the ventilation system, jolting the occupants into alertness.
“When you have 40 students in a room, all breathing the same air, it’s no wonder they start to fall asleep,” said John Wright, dean of the School of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology at the University of Southern Maine.
“And here we professors thought it was us,” he quipped.
Wright is delighted with the new $6.5 million science and technology building, a model of energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity. It was recognized earlier this month by the U.S. Green Building Council, a coalition of building industry leaders promoting the design and construction of buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to work. It’s the first occupied building in Maine to be recognized, and recognition included Harriman Associates, the Auburn architectural firm that designed the center, and Wright-Ryan Construction, the builders.
“It was a learning curve for us the whole way,” said Kevin Whitney, project manager and lead architect for the building.
The council bestowed on the building a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designation, certifying that the building met standards in six areas of environmental quality and energy efficiency. It was Whitney’s job to figure out how to meet the standards while delivering the building on time and on budget.
Among the building’s innovations:
• Exterior, heat-absorbing metal panels made from recycled steel.
• Walls made of crushed sunflower seeds and wheat hulls.
• Wood from sustainable forests.
• Siting and design to maximize solar energy.
• Automated environmental controls that conserve heat, lights and ventilation.
• Materials and furnishings with low or no gas emissions.
The project had an additional challenge: It included the renovation of an existing 1960s building into the new center. The old, 37,000-square-foot building had to be brought up to code and incorporated into the design of the new 23,000-square-foot expansion.
It took two years to bring the building from concept to completion. University officials wanted the building to serve as a model for students, so there were technological innovations as well. For example, all the cabling and electrical systems are visible in the data lab, so students can see what’s normally hidden behind walls. The laboratories have electrical outlets that can be detached and reattached wherever it’s convenient. A huge flat screen dominates the lobby, displaying the automated environmental conditions of each room.
And 90 percent of the construction wastes were recycled. The sub-base of the runway extension at Portland International Jetport was made from recycled debris from the Mitchell center project. Other waste was recycled into new asphalt for road projects in Maine.
Whitney said the toughest part was the time involved in tracking down the green materials needed to meet the standards. Finding local supplies of sustainable forest products and bricks was easy, but he had to go to the Midwest to find a source for the wheat-based wallboard. He credits Wright-Ryan with finding the recycled steel used in the building’s exterior panels and trim.
Part of the difficulty is the novelty of LEED designs. There are only about 1,500 LEED projects under way nationally, but Whitney predicts that the number will grow. Harriman is already working on its second LEED project for USM, a dormitory near the Mitchell center.
“This one is much easier,” he said. “There’s no doubt this will be the way of doing business in the next few years.”
The state of Maine has already issued an order that all new state buildings follow LEED guidelines. What’s needed for LEED designs to catch on in the private sector is a longer time frame for a return on the developer’s investment, Whitney said. The Mitchell building will save 30-40 percent of its energy costs per year versus a conventional design. In the short term, that might not be enough of an incentive to get private developers interested in pursuing LEED projects. But over the life of the building, that’s a savings that more than makes up for any higher construction costs, he said.
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