Campus Green Builder

Sabine Hall will be the first LEED^® certified building at the Richland College. Thunderduck Hall, construction of which was completed in 2003, was also built with green features, but it was planned and built before the widespread implementation of the LEED^® benchmarking system. The institution, as part of its commitment to sustainability and the climate neutrality, has decided that all new buildings on the campus will be built at least to LEED^® Silver standards.

Challenges in regards to Building Green on Campus

Richland College decided at an early stage of the planning process that the new science building would be built to sustainable, environmentally friendly and energy efficient standards. Following the learning experiences during the green building-related conferences, such as Greenbuild and APPA, the administrative and senior management of the institution decided to adopt the LEED^® building criteria for the new construction on the campus. The support from other institution members, senior administration and faculty members further catalyzed this process, encouraging the project team at every stage of planning, design and implementation. However, there were a few challenges that the team encountered and eventually surmounted throughout this journey of building the first LEED^® certified building on the campus:

1. Incongruence between the Dallas building code and LEED^® criteria
   The team found that, though LEED^® imposed more stringent requirements to provide higher sustainable options, the building codes of the City of Dallas did not always allow for these features to be implemented. The design team found that in many instances the codes were not “keeping up with the evolution of the times,” in the words of Mr. Eddie Hueston, Director of Facilities Services at Richland College. Conflicts arose during inspection and permitting of many of the building features. For example, it was quite challenging to obtain a building permit that would allow the installation of cisterns, which were used for gray water and flushing.
2. The structure of the community college district
   The Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) system consists of seven independent campuses, but has one chancellor who overlooks the entire district. This structure requires that requests to build green be approved by the district board. Richland found that, since green building requirements were not included in the bond issue documents (the bond that funded the construction of Sabine Hall) and building green was not necessarily an existing doctrine for the district, it was difficult to promote for a construction type that is known to carry a higher upfront cost compared to traditional building methods. Advocating for this initiative to obtain the necessary funds was found to be a difficult task for the passionate and committed staff members at Richland College.
3. Selection of Building professionals
   Following the decision to adhere to LEED^® guidelines, Richland recognized that the selection of appropriate design and construction professionals would be an integral part of the process in order to reap the full benefits of sustainable building. The institution went through a rigorous selection process, which constituted of multiple interviews of local designers, architects, LEED^® professionals and other building experts. Throughout the interview process, the institution quickly realized that there was a scarcity of green building expertise, as many firms did not have a portfolio that truly supported sustainable design and construction practices.
4. Cohabitation of laboratories and offices
   Sabine Hall is the first science building being constructed on Richland campus since the initial structures were completed years ago. The campus team found that much has changed since then, and that construction of laboratories and offices in one building that follows LEED^® criteria represented special set of challenges due to the stringent requirements associated with their function in such close vicinity to frequently occupied spaces. The laboratories also have more rigorous indoor air quality control protocols than other regularly occupied spaces, and designing the HVAC system configuration to meet these demands could also add to the overall cost of the building, if not planned optimally.

Identifying and Assessing Opportunities to Build Green

Evaluating the need for green building on the campus was about recognizing the benefits offered by green buildings and the desire to advance Richland into the sustainability movement. By attending several conferences such as Greenbuild and the one organized by the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA), the administration learned about the advantages of high efficiency construction. Once the need to expand the campus was determined, the institution knew that adopting green building practices for this construction was a necessity and not an option to be debated or pondered upon. Even though the institution does not have a clear process as far as building policy is concerned, being an ACUPCC signatory, the institution is dedicated to implementing LEED^® Silver criteria, at a minimum, into its new construction projects on the campus. This initiative was strongly supported by the president, Dr. Mittleset, and the senior management who took the lead role in obtaining funding for the project.

Green Building Protocols

There are no formerly recorded protocols for green building practice at Richland. However, the institution has made a commitment to itself and future generations to provide learning spaces that are sustainable and livable as well as become educational sources by demonstrating emerging green technologies, which in turn help the campus reduce its carbon footprint. Richland is looking to improve the campus through the current bond issue. However, sources for additional resources and funding are being investigated in order to renovate existing buildings to LEED^®-EB standards. The institution realized that the aging infrastructure can benefit from retrofits, which will bring cost savings as the campus continues to grow and create facilities that could satisfy the increasing demands of the campus community. To that respect, the physical plant on the campus was recently expanded and updated to twice its previous size now housing new chillers and boilers. Also, the institution showed its commitment to sustainability by reusing a modular building that needed to be taken apart in order to enable the extension of the central plant. No waste was generated during this process.