Materials

Northern Michigan University (NMU) in the Midwest of the US has opened the doors to two halls of residence with a difference – the newly renovated buildings meet stringent US Green Building Council LEED* benchmarks for energy efficiency and sustainability.

Universities in the US and around the world are increasingly turning to energy efficiency and sustainable design models for new buildings, but fewer are applying the same principles to renovating existing facilities.

Despite the challenges, NMU is undertaking renovations of existing halls of residence that meet LEED basic and silver standards without significantly adding to costs.

“It’s easier for new construction projects to become LEED certified because you can start from scratch with the goal of building green,” said Brandon Sager of NMU engineering and planning. “It’s more challenging with an existing building. When we started, people kept telling us it doesn’t really cost much more to go the sustainable route and it turned out to be true.”

The 90-day renovations included selecting sustainable materials and installing water and energy efficient technologies.

“Many of the materials used in the renovations are made of recycled content. Regulated water use has been reduced by up to 60 percent with the help of dual-flush toilets and low-flow showers and faucets, and air flow has been significantly improved with new mechanical systems,” explains Sager. “We are also saving energy with lights that are on timers or have occupancy sensors.”

*Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system encourages sustainable green building and development practices through performance criteria.
For further information:
www.nmu.edu
www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222