Grand Valley's new academic building, Lake Ontario Hall, is the latest example of a new way of building at Grand Valley -- a method that aims to create healthy facilities for their inhabitants and the environment.
"We now have begun to look at the buildings themselves, to make sure that the buildings we build are as environmentally friendly as we can get them," said James Moyer, assistant vice president for Facilities Planning.
The building will be dedicated Monday, September 26, from 4-5:30 p.m. The $12 million, 50,000-square-foot building was built to LEED specifications -- that's Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design. LEED is a certification process instituted by the U.S. Green Building Council, a coalition of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations working together to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible and healthy places to live and work.
The LEED rating system awards credits for satisfying green building criteria in categories like site selection, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and indoor environmental quality. There are higher levels of LEED certification -- silver, gold, platinum -- for buildings that earn even more points.
Lake Ontario Hall was designed to pass LEED muster, an approval process that can take months. It is located on the south end of the Allendale Campus on what was part of a parking lot -- a site that is more ecologically responsible than building on open land. The building's LEED features include:
- Lake Ontario Hall is near a bus stop, giving students, faculty and staff alternatives to driving
- The interior and exterior lighting was selected to minimize light pollution
- There are outside views from virtually everywhere, and the offices and corridors are bathed in natural sunlight
- There's a lack of light switches in favor of light sensors
- The plumbing uses low-flow fixtures, and the urinals are waterless
- Many of the materials used in the building were recycled, and more than 80 percent of the construction waste generated was recycled.
The building will be dedicated Monday, September 26, from 4-5:30 p.m. President Mark A. Murray will make remarks during the ceremony, which will also mark the 45th anniversary of the school's charter. In a tribute to Grand Valley's commitment to liberal arts, the presentation will include art, music and poetry. Artist Ed Wong-Ligda has been commissioned to paint a mural in honor of Grand Valley's 45th anniversary that will be unveiled during the ceremony. Poet Patricia Clark and jazz program head Kurt Ellenberger have been commissioned to put poetry to music in honor of the anniversary as well.
The building's occupants include the Padnos International Center, Liberal Studies, Pew Faculty Teaching & Learning Center, Center of Excellence for Science Education, Writing, Sustainability Coordinator, Intercultural Studies, Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors, Women and Gender Studies, and the College of Interdisciplinary Studies dean's office.
