Green Building at Fort Lewis College
Welcome to your source for information on green building at Fort Lewis College. The goal of these pages is to help the Fort Lewis community understand and participate in design process for FLC’s newest buildings.
Designing a green building involves tradeoffs. Is it more important to install photovoltaic panels or have a green roof? Should FLC spend more money on recycled materials or water conservation? In order for the college to take pride in these structures, it’s important to understand these tradeoffs and the reasons for the decisions that determine the final design. Each building has a specific purpose. The challenge and fun in designing a green building comes in figuring out how to fulfill that purpose with the least environmental impact while remaining on budget.
Learn more about green building and the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system.
Learn more about the reasons for Fort Lewis to build green.
Current Projects
Student Union Building – The College Union Building will be undergoing a major renovation in 2009 and be linked to a new dining hall. The addition aims to achieve a LEED-Gold certification. The new and improved Student Union will house campus dining, the bookstore, the Native American Center, El Centro de Muchos Colores, and all student clubs and organizations, including KDUR and the Environmental Center. For more information, contact Brad Hitti. Learn more…
New Residence Hall – The new residence hall is a $12 million, 50,000 square foot project, scheduled to open for Fall 2009; the goal is to achieve LEED-Silver certification. The hall is expected to house a living-learning community of 148 students (in suites of four single bedrooms) and two faculty/staff members (in apartments), plus multi-purpose classroom, lounge, and resource room. For more information contact Chris Thrash.
Biology Building – The College is now in the process of updating the original design for the building that was completed in 2002. One of the update requirements is to incorporate sustainability enhancements into the old design. The College hopes to achieve a LEED-Silver certification, but believes it can achieve a LEED-certified project as a fallback. For more information, contact Mark Gutt.
Read the latest updates on these projects.
Resources
The Environmental Center’s Climate Action Team will post general resources on green building here. For documents relevant to specific projects, visit the specific project page.
LEED Rating System (Version 2.2) - See the latest version of the rating system that FLC is using to guide its green building choices
Greening the Student Union – In spring of 2007, students from Professor Tina Evans’ End of Oil class teamed up with the EC student staff to study opportunities to integrate green features into the new Student Union.
Native Landscaping Concepts – Describes the historical ecology of the Fort Lewis College campus and describes opportunities to enhance ecological function in the center of campus.
Renewable Energy – This document summarizes information from the 2006 book The Business Case for Renewable Energy: A Guide for Colleges and Universities by Andrea Putnam and Michael Phillips, with additional information specifically applicable to Fort Lewis College and the State of Colorado. This is a good introduction to understand the current options for on-site renewable energy generation
Green Roofs – A basic primer on green roof systems
Small Wind Systems – A basic primer on the potential for wind energy on the FLC campus
Legal Issues for On-Site Wastewater Treatment and Stormwater Retention – Summarizes the current state regulations for on-site wastewater treatment and stormwater capture and retention.
