Campus Green Builder

The Suites is the first and only green building and LEED^®-Certified building on the Spelman campus. As part of the campus strategic plan, six existing buildings, aging between 30 and approximately 108 years, will be renovated in the coming years. The institution hopes to achieve LEED^® certification for all the six buildings upon the completion of the renovation.

Challenges with regard to Building Green on Campus

Members of the institution, administration and management alike, are supportive of green building projects at Spelman. "The Suites" is the first new construction on the Spelman campus in the 21^st century. Following are the challenges faced by the administration and the project team during the planning, design and construction stages.

1.Delayed Decision-making creating avoidable barriers

The decision to make this building green and LEED^®-certified, at a minimum,
came after the actual construction of the project had started. That meant that
the planning and the design of the building project were concluded before the decision of building a LEED^®-certified building was brought to the project team. Because of this delay, the project team confronted various hurdles that could have been easily avoided by timely decision-making.

2.Difficulties faced while integrating potential green building features in the building

Due to the fact that the green building idea was brought to the table much later in the process, the integration of the green features into the building proved to be a more cumbersome and resource-intensive undertaking. The team opted to implement LEED^® and green features into the existing design wherever possible and extensively revised the existing design to accommodate the new green features.

3. Missed opportunities of incorporating more green building features in the building

In many cases, the cost of the LEED^® credits that could be obtained had to be critically evaluated to determine the value of the added features compared to the previously planned cost of the overall project. This did not leave much scope for incorporating more green building features that could have been optimally included with a premeditated integrated design process.

Identifying and Assessing Opportunities to Build Green

Like any other aging infrastructure, Spelman's campus facilities face challenges with retrofitting these building systems and also sizeable costs associated with the facilities' operations and energy usage. To overcome these challenges and plan for efficient and healthy built environments, Spelman assessed the identified the need for creating a strategic plan for the campus. Energy savings, lower maintenance needs and costs along with the transformation of Spelman campus into a more sustainable campus are the benefits of the proposed campus strategic plan.

In addition, educating occupants, including students, staff and faculty, through campus awareness and educational activities such as the Energy Management Policy are essential to begin the quest for energy conservation and transform the way in which buildings are perceived. The institution recognizes that, though the upfront expenses would be accrued, building green and maintaining campus efficiency are cost saving investments for the future of the institution and its community.

Green Building Protocols

The institution is reviewing a strategic plan and outlining the protocol that would eventually result in incorporating green building features and addressing occupant's behavior throughout the campus.

The college's president, Dr. Beverly Tatum, in her 2006 convocation speech, expressed a strong desire to "[build] for the next 100 years and pay attention to environmental impact." The president instructed that The Suites be constructed under a recognized green standard, at a minimum LEED^®-Certified level. Dr. Tatum talks about sending Spelman women into the world with adequate education and awareness that would enable them to recognize the environmental catastrophes affecting the planet and act as stewards for our planet. Her aspiration to transform the campus into a more sustainable environment coupled with the facility director's first-hand exposure to the difficulties the institution faces due to the aging infrastructure, created a great support for the green building idea at the institution.

In addition, assessment of the largest complex at the institution (3 buildings dating year 2000) is underway. There are also plans to renovate 6 non-air conditioned residence halls, with the goal that they will be LEED^®-Certified upon the completion of the renovation. The need for this renovation was assessed based on the first-hand experience with substantial cost savings offered by energy and water efficiency and conservation measures. The need for newer systems and feedback from the occupants also supported the decision to retrofit the older buildings. The recognition of the direct link between energy efficiency, cost savings and over-arching institutional sustainability will inform the Green Building Protocols at the Spelman College.

In essence, Spelman College has its sight set on the future and the paybacks offered by a sustainable campus, while taking the role of a sustainability leader in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities community.