by Shane Henson — October 21, 2013—Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington, is looking like an A-plus student in the eyes of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The organization recently awarded the institution’s Cebula Hall with the highest rating of any newly constructed LEED-certified building in the western hemisphere. The USGBC’s internationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program recognizes buildings with structural features that demonstrate environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
Cebula Hall, which houses the Hal and Inge Marcus School of Engineering, received 97 out of 110 possible LEED points, according to Saint Martin’s University. With this rating, Cebula Hall reportedly claims third place among all LEED-NC c2009 (newly constructed) buildings worldwide. Construction cost for the building was $225 per square foot, dispelling the notion that LEED Platinum buildings cost 15 percent or more than similar, nonsustainable buildings, the university added.
“Cebula Hall is living proof that the implementation of green building techniques can be very economical,” says Joseph Bettridge, P.E., vice president and director of engineering at Sunset Air Inc., who was project executive during construction of the three-story structure. “It doesn’t take a lot of ‘green’ to be green—just smarter choices and the commitment to optimize the design for the maximum benefit at the lowest cost.”
Innovative features of Cebula Hall include a geothermal ground loop, coupled to water-source heat pumps, and in-floor radiant heat; systems and structures that are exposed, offering visitors a clear view of operations; energy-efficient fixtures and equipment that reduce water usage by 48 percent; a large rooftop solar panel system that allows students to study the production of solar energy; a rain garden; and a photovoltaic array that produces more than 15 percent of the building’s power and also provides power back to the electrical grid.
Also impressive, all energy usage for Cebula Hall is tracked in real time through an interactive, online building dashboard.
“The university’s goal from the beginning was to earn LEED Platinum certification for our new engineering facility, which we designed to be a teaching and learning tool, inside and out,” explains University President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D. “Stewardship is one of the values inherent to our Catholic, Benedictine philosophy of education, so it is especially meaningful to the Saint Martin’s community to be recognized as a leader in sustainability.”
