Multicultural Center opens doors for first tours

By: Erin McCarthy

Posted: 12/5/08

Members of Western Illinois University's Sustainability Committee took a tour of the new Multicultural Center Thursday.

As part of Western Illinois' effort to join the green revolution, the new Multicultural Center is a LEED Silver construction, adhering to the certification requirements set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

According to www.usgbc.org, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System has become a nationally accepted standard for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED promotes a comprehensive approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Ted Renner, construction project coordinator, led the tour throughout the building, informing the Sustainability Committee on the different aspects of the Multicultural Center that make it LEED Silver, beginning with sustainable site development.

The location of the building, as well as the incorporation of a grass roof, adds to the Multicultural Center's sustainability.

"There have been a lot of questions as to how the grass roof will be maintained," Renner said. "Aside from the occasional weeding, the roof actually won't need much maintenance at all once it's established."

The grass roof consists of seven layers: corrugated metal, gypsum growth medium, fluid asphalt, a granular material, a drainage mat and a layer of sedum. The top layer is made up of eight different types of seed and will result in four inches of coarse shrubbery. The goal of a vegetated roof is to reduce the heat island effect and insulate the space below, and it lasts longer than traditional roofing.

The Multicultural Center's energy efficiency stems from the use of natural lighting, geothermal heating and cooling and variable frequency drives.

"Most of the light during the day comes from the large amount of windows on the northern side of the building," said Renner. "This allows us to benefit from the sunlight without getting all the heat."

Troy Rhoads, Lead Physical Plant Stationary Engineer, explained the geothermal system as a "total energy recovery heat pump".

"During the summer, it takes the heat from the building and puts it in the ground, and in the winter months the heat from the ground will be circulated throughout the building," said Rhoads. "It can also take away and add moisture to the air, so it works to control the heat, as well as the humidity."

Material selection for the building has played a very important role during construction, in order to keep up to LEED Silver standards.

"As of the first of the month, 81 percent of construction waste has been diverted from the landfill," said Renner. "Almost all of the materials have come from within a 500-mile radius to cut down on transportation, and most of the old building has been recycled."

Renner expects their percentage of recycled materials to reduce in the next few weeks, however, as they begin working with drywall, and the nearest recycling is as far as Chicago.

"We are looking into using it for other purposes, like a soil amendment or salt neutralizer," said Renner. "It's just going to depend on the cost for a drywall grinder."

Another component of the construction's material selection is the use of bamboo flooring for the central atrium. According to Renner, bamboo was chosen over oak because of its renewability factor.

Several of the building's characteristics contribute to the overall indoor environmental quality, including the open center and windows, which provide for the occupants a connection between indoor spaces and the outdoors through the introduction of daylight, as well as views into the regularly occupied areas of the building.

Gordon Rands, associate professor of management, is the co-chair of the Sustainability Committee and has high expectations for the Multicultural Center.

"I'm impressed. This was my first chance to see a LEED building in the construction stages," said Rands. "It's exciting to see such a highly energy and material-efficient building on WIU's campus, and hopefully it's the first of many."

Rands believes the presence of a LEED building demonstrates President Goldfarb's commitment to sustainability, but he is disappointed in the state's failure to provide a capital budget toward more rebuilding and improvements of this kind.

"Science has shown that we need an 80% cut in carbon emissions, and that is going to take extensive remodeling and rebuilding of our existing building stock," said Rands. "This costs a lot of money, so it's important that our state government can get the budget together and fund this. In the meantime, I think we're all looking forward to a lot of positive feedback for this project."