It is fitting that the Arizona State University (ASU) Global Institute of Sustainability and newly formed School of Sustainability--the first in the U.S. to offer transdisciplinary degree programs that explore and advance practical solutions to environmental, economic and social challenges--should be housed in a sustainably designed facility. However, that was easier envisioned than achieved, considering that these two entities are located in a once-dreary building designed in 1965.
Although ASU’s original budget of $3 million for the renovation of its former Nursing Building allowed primarily for asbestos abatement; upgrading the fire and life safety, HVAC and lighting systems; and making the elevators, stairways and restrooms Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, university officials envisioned more. When an additional $3 million became available from ASU’s capital budget, architects from the team of Lord, Aeck & Sargent and Gould Evans Associates collaborated to create a building that would celebrate responsible design--both inside and out--as visible proof of the Institute’s mission.
The result is the transformation of a dark, vintage 1960s-era structure with cavernous hallways into a bright, open, eco-friendly facility that is targeting silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building is anticipated to save 18.7 percent on energy use and 50.3 percent on water use compared with the original building’s baseline usage.
Water-saving strategies were a focus for the design team, which specified waterless urinals, low-flow toilets, timer-based faucets and automatically monitored landscaping irrigation. Pervious paving surrounding the site controls storm water runoff.
“In spite of our modifications, we were able to retain much of the building’s exterior design so that it still looks very much like the vintage '60s-era building that it is,” said John Dimmel, a Gould Evans architect who served as lead project designer on the renovation. “The building had a lot going for it, and it was interesting to work with it and make it into something new.”
The project team for Global Institute of Sustainability building comprised:
• ASU, Tempe – owner
• Mohammad Madjidi - ASU project manager
• Brenda Shears - Global Institute of Sustainability/ASU Liaison
• Lord, Aeck & Sargent Inc., in association with Gould Evans Associates – design architects
• Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers Inc. – MEP engineers
• Paragon Structural Design – structural engineers
Norris Design – landscape architect
• Johnson Carlier – construction manager-at-risk
Photo credit: Mark Boisclair Photography, 2008
Source: Lord, Aeck & Sargent
