Environmental Consciousness vs. Expansion "There is No Ideal Solution, Just a Right Direction"

Author: Jon White

"There is no ideal solution, just the right direction" concluded the "Guiding Principles" adopted in May 1999 by the Project Review Committee. The Committee, with special guidance from Nan Jenks-Jay, director of environmetal affairs, and Dave Ginevan, executive vice president of facilities, ensures that Middlebury remains at the forefront of the environmental movement while going about its current construction boom.
Design considerations in LaForce and Ross halls demonstrate such efforts to go the right direction. Soaring windows in the dining hall ensure abundant natural light and less dependence on artificial lighting. Ninety-five percent of the wood in LaForce and Ross Dining Hall comes from sustainably-managed forests in Vermont. Additionally, the chairs and sofas in lounge areas are all made of wood from Vermont Family Forests, a compact of sustainably-harvested forest lands that includes acreage near the Bread Loaf campus. Finally, Energy-Star washing machines may be found in the basement.
Yet not every environmentally friendly element of design can be seen. This is the case with the granite in the courtyard outside the new dining hall. The stones here are discards from a local monument company. The engraving mistakes are on the underside of the stones and invisible as one walks across the sleek new courtyard.
Going the right direction also means that before construction even began on the new library and Atwater Commons complex, the Project Review Committee stressed bettering the national energy efficiency building code standards by 40 percent.
The rewards for the College are significant in moving forward through "green" planning. Tom McGinn, project manager with facilities planning, noted that Efficiency Vermont, Vermont's statewide energy efficiency utility, is helping the College finance the installation of lighting sensors in the new library that will automatically adjust light levels in accordance with the amount of natural light flowing in through windows. McGinn stated that the College repays the capital investment of energy efficient systems, including the new library's light sensors, in short periods of time. Jenks-Jay echoed McGinn's comments: "Energy efficient, water-saving and computer-controlled smart monitoring systems to adjust them have short payback periods in the savings they provide."
Other financial rewards come in the form of the College paying less for transportation and shipping costs by purchasing construction materials locally. This commitment has arisen through the "Cornerstone" compact which the College has spearheaded. According to Connie Bisson, sustainable campus coordinator, the compact aims to get architects to buy locally when building so as to reduce their costs and stimulate the local economy. Bisson noted that when purchasing stone for use in the new dining hall, the College chose to purchase from a supplier just over the border in Quebec, versus having stone shipped from the West. Doing so, she said, has multiple payoffs: The College saves money in shipping costs, supports local industry and, on a greater level, addresses the issue of fossil fuels. "We reduce fossil fuel use by not buying items from far away. Reducing carbon demands means reducing our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions," Bisson explained.
In acting as a leader in innovative, environmentally-sensitive design, Middlebury also plays the role of mentor. Jenks-Jay, commented on the College's enviable position: "This responsible attitude towards new building and renovation on campus is something that has put Middlebury College out front as a leader and is being recognized nationally." In coming weeks, the University of Vermont's forestry students will visit Middlebury to learn about certified wood products used in LaForce Hall, while architects from across the state will convene at Middlebury in November to study environmentally friendly planning.
Last week, Jenks-Jay was interviewed by the Osgood Report in San Francisco. The Osgood Report is an environmental radio show that reaches an audience of nearly 125,000 people. In her interview Jenks-Jay highlighted that nearly 98 percent of the Old Science center was recycled in deconstruction last fall.
Bisson takes this example of recycling a step further. By not sending materials to a landfill to decompose, the College curtails methane gas releases, a policy that works for the recycling of old buildings as well as it works for students recycling paper products.
A natural question arises: How did the College become a model and how does it work with its architects to implement environmentally-friendly designs?
Jenks-Jay said that she and Ginevan developed a series of sustainable design and construction standards that was approved by the College's Board of Trustees in the spring of 2000. Jenks-Jay and Ginevan used the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, called "LEED" standards, as a framework. These standards were modified to fit Middlebury's own ambitions and incorporated into the College's Master Plan, which provides architects with a conceptual blueprint in planning new construction projects.
McGinn also mentioned that Middlebury's lead proceeds from general attention to advances in environmental design. "From the state, from our own standards, from our consultants and peers, we learn what's new in terms of innovation and new technology," McGinn commented.
Along with the light sensors in the new library, McGinn previewed the energy-efficient design of the new Atwater residence hall. According to McGinn, the suites in the new dorm will occupy the entire floor so that students may open windows on either side of the room and achieve cross-ventilation. Ceiling fans will also help circulate the air, while every suite will feature a ventilation shaft connected to an attic fan. This fan exhausts hot air and draws cooler evening air into the room through open windows. McGinn said that this design consideration is an "old-fashioned idea reworked" and comes in response to the College's concern that the need for summer Language School students and faculty to have comfortable rooms is met without installating expensive mechanical air conditioning systems.
One of the greatest boons to the College in its efforts to maximize energy efficiency has been the implementation of a state-of-the-art Electronic Management System (EMS) that operates out of the Service Building. With EMS, which first came on-line in 1978 in Painter Hall, the College actively regulates energy consumption. George McPhail, staff engineer with facilities management, oversees EMS. McPhail views EMS as part of the brains behind striking a balance between energy demand and efficiency. The system regulates everything from individual room temperature, to temperatures in hot water heaters, to sensors that control exhaust fans in the new Ross Dining Hall. In the case of Bicentennial Hall, McPhail feeds EMS the class schedule for the entire building at the beginning of each semester so that temperatures in the building can be regulated. "We want people to be comfortable, but we also want to achieve a certain level of efficiency," McPhail said.
While EMS does not control electrical use in individual rooms, it does monitor and control much of the exterior lighting on campus. It is programmed to stagger the illumination of night lighting on campus. In this way the College avoids potential fines from Central Vermont Power Supply for exceeding peak energy load.
Yet EMS, smart construction design and the use of sustainable products only go so far in mitigating the environmental footprint left by the College. Facilities Planning and the Environmental Council are waging an uphill battle in stemming energy demands.
Through a steam plant, the College co-generates 13 to 14 percent of its total electrical consumption, according to Jon Woodbury, director of Facilities Management. Woodbury explained that this electricity is pumped back into Middlebur
y's power grid, and not into Central Vermont Power Supply. This on-site generation of electricity and the energy-efficient philosophy expressed in the College's Master Plan must, however, compete with the effect that networking the campus, as well as the proliferation of computers and stereo equipment, has had on overall energy demand. "It is important for people to understand that the College consumes tremendous amounts of electricity," said McGinn. Beyond electrical consumption, both McGinn and Bisson expressed concern about Middlebury's water use, which has escalated despite a lingering drought in the Northeast.
Continued adherence to the Project Review Committee's ambition to go the right direction will require coordination not merely among administrators, architects and engineers, but also active participation by students in thinking about their own energy use.