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Inside Iowa State, a newspaper for faculty and staff, is published by the Office of University Relations.

April 18, 2008

Morrill Hall

Morrill Hall in the spring of 2007 following its renovation. Submitted photo.

Certifiably green

by Anne Krapfl

A $10 million renovation of the 115-year-old Morrill Hall has landed Iowa State its first "green building" recognition.

Morrill Hall received a silver rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED® is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance sustainable buildings.

The LEED® silver rating is third highest among four ratings, and is based on points awarded in five areas:

  • Site development
  • Water savings
  • Energy efficiency
  • Materials and resources selection
  • Indoor environmental quality

Morrill Hall is the first building at an Iowa regent institution to achieve LEED® certification and just the seventh building in the state with the designation. It is one of just a handful of LEED®-certified buildings in the country that also are on the National Register of Historic Places.

"This is an important first step for us," said project manager Kerry Dixon-Fox of facilities planning and management. "We have been judged against a set of national standards on sustainability, and this certification says the building is doing what it was intended to do."

Dixon-Fox estimated that four years ago, when plans to restore Morrill were under way, sustainable measures added 5 to 10 percent to construction costs. A move toward sustainability in the industry probably would add less than 2 percent to the project today, she said.

Some of the achievements that earned Morrill Hall its rating include:

  • 88 percent of the building's structure and shell were kept and rehabilitated
  • Energy-efficiency measures will result in a 35 percent savings over standard energy codes
  • 27 percent of construction materials (by cost) were manufactured within 500 miles of Ames; of these, 64 percent also were locally harvested or mined
  • 18 percent of the new construction materials contained recycled materials (including drywall and ceiling and roof tiles)
  • More than 80 percent of the interior workspaces receive acceptable levels of daylight
  • Native plants were used in the landscaping, so no permanent irrigation system is needed
  • The heating and cooling system contains no chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerants (which deplete the ozone)
  • Custodial staff use "green" house-keeping products and methods

Dixon-Fox said that LEED® silver certification (or better) will be the standard for new construction projects on campus.

Other university projects for which Iowa State will seek LEED® certification are the College of Design addition, Hach Hall (new chemistry facility) and the Biorenewables Research Laboratory (phase I of the biorenewables complex).

Summary

Morrill Hall is the first building at an Iowa regent institution to achieve LEED® certification and just the seventh building in the state with the designation. It is one of just a handful of LEED®-certified buildings in the country that also are on the National Register of Historic Places.