Engineering Building

The renovation of the Engineering Building added 18,000 square feet to the 70,000 square feet of the original building constructed in 1971.

• Architect: Smith Group
• Contractor: Holder Construction

Engineering was originally designed to earn a Silver LEED rating. With the use of reclaimed water for all facility landscaping and in waste conveyance as well as the use of strategic and natural lighting to lower electrical use, Engineering earned a higher Gold rating. It earned 40 out of the 69 total points for its LEED certification.

The Engineering building houses classrooms, a teaching auditorium that can hold 90 students, over a dozen student computer labs, and the Sustainable Energy Systems research lab.

Features

• Lighting features of the building include energy-saving exit signs.
• Cooling fans with variable speed adjust as needed by season and time of day to save energy.
• Central corridor restrooms use reclaimed water and waterless urinals in the men’s rooms. Partitions are made of recycled materials.
• Mechanical rooms with glass windows serve as learning opportunities for students in engineering and construction management programs.
• Alcoves on the second and third floor provide places for study or discussion with professors continuing after class. All are equipped with portable white boards for calculations and illustrations.

Achieving LEED Gold

Energy efficiency

• Motion detectors turn lights on and off.
• Natural lighting saves energy and improves learning abilities.
• The number of exterior windows significantly lowers electrical use.
• T-8 ballast lighting saves 70 percent on electricity.

Construction

• Office transom windows bringing natural daylight to the interior offices and enhance hallway lighting.
• Hot and chilled water supplied by a central plant.
• Air is chilled by the wet walls located in the air handlers throughout the building.
• Low emissivity roofing, from a recycled single ply material, reduces the “heat island” effect.

Reduced building impact

• Over 70 percent of all demolition and construction waste was recycled during the project.
• Heating and cooling represents about 60 percent of the energy costs of the building.
• This green building reduces energy and water consumption as much as 40 percent compared to a conventional building of similar size and use.

Water efficiency

• Irrigation utilizes reclaimed water and is dispersed through a drip system.
• Landscaping reduced potable water consumption by more than 50 percent.
• Use of reclaimed water in waste conveyance decreased overall potable water consumption by more than 90 percent.

Technology

• State-of-the-art multimedia facilities in every classroom.
• Two rooms have video conferencing equipment.