EFS Profiles
Wendy and Malcolm McLean Environmental Living and Learning Center
Northland College
Ashland, Wisconsin
Purpose: Greening the Campus
Please note that the copyright for this profile is retained by the institution.
Northland College opened the world's most advanced environmental residence hall in the Fall of 1998. The structure provides a unique living and learning opportunity emphasizing resource efficiency and renewable energy.
The building's $4.1 million cost represents an investment in Northland's commitment to apply in practice what it teaches about developing a sustainable future. The new residence hall was designed with hundreds of environmental considerations in mind. Originally, the goal was to achieve energy and water efficiency at a rate 40% greater than a typical building designed to code. The Energy Center of Wisconsin (an organization funded by power utility companies) assisted the College in engaging the Weidt Group (energy and environmental consultants) to analyze the building's projected energy use. The study estimates that the structure will surpass the College's goal by another 10%, achieving a 50% greater efficiency level.
Northland is currently in the first month of an extensive monitoring project which will monitor energy use and production in the building for a twelve month period. This study is being conducted by CDH Energy Corporation with support from the Energy Center of Wisconsin. Plans are to continue the monitoring after the 12 month project by engaging students in the process. As they operate the building, Northland plans to begin sharing their energy usage and production data on their website along with what they are learning from their experiences with the building.
The two-story design features three wings housing, at full occupancy, 114 students. Living arrangements feature three styles: regular double rooms, suites, and apartments. It also includes nine lounge or study areas, and four different energy and waste management systems.
Environmental Features
Among the special environmental features is a 120-foot 20 kilowatt wind tower to be located at the northeast corner of the building. Three photovoltaic arrays will provide efficient active solar energy collection and help study the efficiency -- one array is stationary, a second one tracks the sun's path horizontally, and the third tracks both horizontally and vertically to maximize solar gain.
Fourteen solar panels placed on the roof of the south wing will preheat hot water for use by residents. Composting waterless toilets in two of the apartments will provide a demonstration of their function and efficiency. The apartments have passive solar design and share two greenhouses. Students are currently growing plants that will be transplanted to the campus gardens in late May.
Each apartment has a kWh meter located at the entry and residents have been encouraged to record their electric usage on a regular basis. A portable meter was also used to determine the electric usage (efficiency) of the various appliances and tools residents have in their rooms.
At a recent international conference -- "Greening of the Campus" at Ball State University -- that focused on strategies to help colleges become more environmentally sensitive, a Northland College presentation focused on energy considerations, building materials, sustainable living practices, and student involvement in the planning process. Northland will be presenting information on the first year's operation and on the "Sustainable Living on a College Campus" course offered in the building in Fall 1998 at the third "Greening of the Campus" conference in September 1999.
Planning Involvement
Northland College students joined architects and others on Northland's Campus Facilities Master Plan Committee to select the most environment-friendly materials for the new facility. Cedar shakes on exterior walls were not transported from western states, but grown in the nearby northern forests of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Other structural wood components were similarly grown and milled in the nearby region to reduce the impact of transportation on the environment. Hardwood materials used in the building are from certified forests.
Classroom Application
Tom Wojciechowski, Director of Student Development at Northland, taught a course for Environmental Living and Learning Center residents called "Sustainable Living in a College Community." In it, students studied various aspects of personal living habits and choices from the perspective of environmental impacts. Additional studies in sustainable living focused on energy, water, food, consumption, and waste. The course is part of Northland's Environmental Studies program and began with the building's first residents in the fall 1998 term.
Environmental Living and Learning Center Facts
- Hammel-Green-Abrahamson Architects led the design process and the Frank Tomlinson Company of Ashland served as general contractor. LHB Architects and Engineers were the environmental building designers and architect of record.
- Capacity: 114 students
- Square Footage: 32,374 (not including basement, 39,994 with basement)
- Stories: 2 (plus partial basement)
- Location: West edge of campus, north of soccer field.
- Room styles: Apartments with 2 double and 2 single rooms. Suites with 2 double rooms and a common bathroom. Double rooms.
- Heating: High efficiency natural gas boiler, hot water radiation. Passive solar design in South wing. Heat-recover units in building ventilation system
- Hot Water: High efficiency natural gas with solar pre-heating.
- Electricity: 120 foot, 20 kilowatt wind generator. Three photo-voltaic solar arrays, approximately 3.2 kilowatt. Tie in to electric grid. High efficiency light fixtures, motors and appliances. Motion sensor lighting controls for common areas. Computer monitoring of all electrical production and use.
- Water: Standard water and sewer hookups to city utilities. Low flow, water saving fixtures throughout building. Two waterless, composting toilets in south wing.
- Communications: Phone, cable TV and computer network connection in all rooms.
- Common spaces: Four lounges. One seminar room. Four dining/seminar rooms. Four kitchens. Laundry. Recycling center. Storage and mechanical.
- Special spaces: Two greenhouses, located in the south wing.
- Special materials: Organic-based linoleum flooring instead of petroleum-based vinyl. Shakes from white cedar trees grown in the UP of Michigan. Cellulose (recycled paper) attic insulation with a R-value of 45 and fiberglass and foam insulation with a R-value of 25 for exterior walls. Furniture made from recycled milk jugs and recycled steel. A bio-composite material for counter-tops in south wing. Windows have low-emissivity coated glass, Hp-4 for south facing, and Hp-5 for the other thermopanes.
For additional information:
Environmental
Living and Learning Center
Living Green: A Residence for Living
and Learning at Northland College (PDF)
The information in this profile was adapted with permission from the Northland
College website. For more information about Northland's environmental
programs, please visit http://www.northland.edu/.
This document was last modified on 02/20/2002 03:58:49 PM
© 2005 Second Nature, Inc.
