Warren Wilson College Building FINAL

Warren Wilson College Asheville, NC Building Design SCHOOL Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a four-year private liberal arts college located on 1,100 acres of picturesque rivers, ridgelines, rolling forest and farmland in the Swannanoa Valley near Asheville, North Carolina. The college enrolls 900 students, employs 200 staff and faculty, and offers Bachelor Degrees in 43 majors and concentrations, and 26 minors ABSTRACT The Eco Dorm Case Study. During the 1998 academic year, student enrollment at Warren Wilson increased to 800 students, and four new dormitories were needed to accommodate this influx. A group of students were concerned about growth, and took positive action by asking for an environmentally friendly, low-impact dormitory. A research and planning committee of students, architects, staff and administrators was assembled and set four priorities for a new building, the “Eco Dorm”: 1.) energy efficiency, 2.) water conservation, 3.) healthy indoor air quality, and 4.)the use of local and highly recyclable materials. The Eco Dorm was the beginning of a campus-wide confrontation of the need for green buildings. A policy mandating only the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings was subsequently adopted for any new building construction projects on campus. Buildings awarded LEED certifications are assessed for five criteria: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, the use of local, recycled, and rapidly renewable materials, and indoor environmental quality. Eco Dorm is registered for LEED platinum certification. In 2006, three more LEED certified projects were completed on campus for LEED Gold certification, The Doug and Darcy Orr Cottage for admissions and college relations and two dormitories named “The Village.” The Orr Cottage has given Warren Wilson the distinction of being the first college or university in North Carolina to have a LEED Gold Certified building. Currently approximately 29 percent of the College’s core campus is comprised of either LEED certified or green buildings. GOALS AND OUTCOMES Goals The Eco Dorm began as a vision for the creation of an experimental living space that would serve as an inspiration to people within and outside of the Warren Wilson community, and to exhibit how people can inhabit a dwelling place that enriches its residents and its environment. Its mission statement is “The Eco Dorm is a working model home for ecological and social sustainability. The Eco Dorm provides a living laboratory and discussion space for residents and the surrounding community.” Ten goals for the Eco Dorm were set forth by the committee: • Foster awareness of many environmental problems we face today • Promote discussion of environmental issues and possible solutions • Provide a model of environmental design and sustainable resource use • Encourage environmental citizenship • Stimulate mindfulness among residents regarding food sustainability through the cultivation and harvesting of foods grown in permaculture landscaping and by the sharing of local food • Value on the individual as well as the entire community • Provide a model for social sustainability • Respect the living space and the people engaged with the space • Support wellness, natural health care, and alternative methods of healing to sustain ourselves and the environment • Provide subject matter for research Accomplishments The Eco Dorm The construction of the Eco Dorm was completed in the summer of 2003, before LEED certifications existed for dormitories; Eco Dorm is registered for a LEED EB Platinum certification. The four priorities stated by the committee (energy efficiency, water conservation, healthy indoor air quality, and the use of local and highly recyclable materials) certainly provided the framework for this new student home. Some examples of energy efficiency and air quality features are as follows: • Photovoltaic panels provide some of Eco Dorm’s electricity during the day • Grid-tied system to conserve energy and to enable the use of excess energy in neighboring dorms • Structural Insulate Panels (SIP) insulation system reduces air infiltration and cuts energy costs by more than 50 percent • Solar hot water panels • Radiant In-Floor Heat (40 percent more efficient than conventional heating): circular pumps beneath floors move hot water throughout plastic tubing • Heat recovery ventilators mechanically control fresh indoor air • De-stratifying ceiling fans • Natural gas stoves in the kitchens National Wildlife Federation • Campus Ecology • 2009 2 • Glass transforms and clerestory windows accompanied by daylight design • Fluorescent lighting • Ultrasonic devices and other sensors turn off lights left on in unoccupied rooms Some water conservation features are as follows: • Rainwater from roof is collected in 10,000 gallon, beneath-ground cisterns and is subsequently pumped and pressurized for use in the outside garden faucet as well as toilets • Bathrooms equipped with low-flow flush toilets and pressure compensators in shower heads • Washing machines that use 67 percent less water than average machines • Two composting toilets that decompose human waste into fertilizing soil by aerobic organisms, requiring no water at all • Permaculture landscape surrounding Eco Dorm includes: Native, edible landscape design Vegetable and fruit gardens Community harvesting and food sharing Food composted in Eco Dorm kitchen Landscaping in the Eco Dorm garden Construction features using recycled and local materials are as follows: • Wood from the Warren Wilson College forest that had fallen prey to pine beetles used for exterior siding and interior trim • Recycled and recyclable steel roofing National Wildlife Federation • Campus Ecology • 2009 3 • 90 percent recycled rubber base • 24 percent fly ash (byproduct of coal burning) concrete flooring • 95 percent recycled drywall • Kitchen and common room floors built using tiles from a Tennessee factory that recycles floor broken floor tiles • 90 percent recycled cast iron, above-slab water pipes Commentary and Reflection The completion of the Eco Dorm changed building practices at Warren Wilson College, calling for an institutionalized commitment to LEED certified buildings. The College has adopted a policy that all future construction will be at a minimum LEED silver designed. The Orr Admissions and College Relations Cottage, built in 2005, became a model for a collaborative, shared project for the college’s work community as well as for sustainable building design. The building’s construction relied solely on the Warren Wilson work force, employing Plumbing, Campus Support, Electric, Paint, Natural Resources, Building Services, Locksmith, Purchasing, Recycling, and Landscaping work crews. The LEED-certified Orr Cottage received the Green Building Project of the Year Award from the Carolina Recycling Association, comprising both Carolinas. As cited, LEED certification requires the use of local materials. A noteworthy character of the Orr Cottage is its commitment to sourcing materials from within a 500 mile radius of the college. All of the wood siding and the timber columns that support the front porch were harvested and milled from the college forests by the Natural Resources Crew. Only native stone was used in construction, and the bulk of the masonry work was performed by a Warren Wilson alumnus. The heat pump loop pipe, concrete, gravel, drywall, shingles, upper level front door, foundation drain material, insulation, stucco, floor and roof trusses were all made from local and regional materials. Lastly, the Orr Cottage’s landscape design strives to create habitat and prevent erosion. The native landscape uses drought resistant plants as a water saving mechanism, construction included a silt retention fence, and a bio-retention trench collects and filters storm water. Light pollution is minimized by the use of low-level outdoor lighting in combination with an indoor lighting design that impedes indoor light from projecting outside, insuring that wildlife is undisturbed. Building design at Warren Wilson College is contributing significantly to green house gas emission reductions, and to the character of the built environment. The first green building was a student initiative, and students have been involved with the construction of green buildings ever since, lending a profound sense of ownership of and pride in the new buildings. These buildings have are one way that Warren Wilson College has taken positive action to promote changes in consciousness and behavior. For more information about the EcoDorm, visit the webpage and the EcoDorm manual http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~ELC/New_ELC_Website_/ecodorm.php ENGAGEMENT AND SUPPORT A student initiative spawned a community supported project under shared governance, which is often the case at Warren Wilson College. The EcoDorm committee, comprised of students, administrators, staff, and architects from Sansel Architects in Asheville, was formed; one of the student committee members ultimately became the first Resident Director of the EcoDorm. For more than a year beginning in 2001, the committee met every Monday to discuss ideas and student research. It was truly a collaborative community process. National Wildlife Federation • Campus Ecology • 2009 4 The Steelcase Foundation of Grand Rapids, Michigan awarded Warren Wilson with a sizeable grant after the Eco Dorm plan was legitimized; the budget was $1.2 million. Although the building was contracted with

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