"Green" buildings might be gold for CSUF

When Cal State Fullerton's new Student Recreation Center opens in the next few weeks, students will be burning more calories, and, at the same time, the facility will be burning less energy.
After years of planning and designing, the two-story center, which will include a swimming pool and a rock climbing wall, might be the university's most energy-efficient building ever constructed.
“This was a student-led project,” said Kurt Borsting, Titan Student Union director. “Our student leaders have really come to make this building environmentally friendly.”
The roof is made of a white solar-reflective material to reduce the load on air conditioning units, showers and irrigation systems use low-flow water methods, a wall of windows cuts back on lighting during the day and the carpet is made of recycled material.
These points all add up to what faculty and students hope will be the university’s first building ever to receive a gold certification in Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design.
New standards are part of a widespread call for sustainability on campuses, mandated by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed in 2006, with a policy statement addressing energy conservation.
The LEED recognition is certificated by the United States Green Building Council, a federal organization that recognizes the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.
The policy states that all universities in California are required to have new buildings that are at least LEED certified. Certification is the lowest of three rankings, which are certificated, silver and gold. The number of points earned for energy efficiency determines each rank.
However, CSUF student leaders and administration have planned the building to be “green” before such policies ever hit the books.
Borsting said students have been working with maintenance and construction officials since 2000 to make the $40 million center the first of its kind in energy-saving capabilities.
With the help of such efforts, CSUF has already received accolades for the recreation center, which won first place for overall design at the CSU/UC Sustainability Conference last year. Previous projects, such as the Arboretum Visitor Center, also received recognition during a previous conference, as well as restructuring the campus’ heating and cooling systems that increased efficiency by 10 percent.
Physical Plant Director Willem van der Pol feels such recognition will push university administration to take more of a “campus-wide” approach to sustainability, instead of different departments taking the lead.
Van der Pol is a member of a developing group of students and faculty called the Sustainability Initiative Study Group, which is currently researching methods and strategies to transform the campus into a more sustainable environment for future projects. The group will be presenting their mission and goals by this summer.
The university has used various methods of conservation in the past such as using “green” cleaning products, conserving water and recycling about 60 percent of waste, including construction material.
But he said people need to make more of a "conscious" effort to save energy, as well as creating a sustainability curriculum.
“We want to encourage faculty and staff to come to the campus using alternative fuels,” he said. “It’s smart to be a little bit ahead.”
Van der Pol is as much involved in the effort on campus as he is in his own life.
In addition, he has helped to convert a majority of maintenance vehicles into electric cars, some with solar-power capabilities, to be steps ahead of a California law that requires all state agencies to have 75 percent of their vehicles powered by alternative fuels.
The benefits of such conservation can also be cost effective as well.
The physical plant is currently in the planning stages for a project to install solar panels, or photosynthetic cells, on top of the Nutwood Parking Structure, said van der Pol.
“We’ve committed to getting this underway,” van der Pol said “We hope the project will pay for itself.”
While the respect as an energy-efficient campus is received well, Mike Smith, CSUF Office of Design and Construction director, said the evaluation of each building “doesn’t come cheap.”
Adding up points for each energy-efficient component can take time and money out of the budget for already costly construction on campus, he said.
Each project is paid for through grants, bonds and student fees, and a portion of funds goes toward making sure buildings are evaluated for LEED certification, such as the new Mihaylo Hall College of Business and Economics, which may receive a top ranking as well.
However, Smith said the developer, C.W. Driver, agreed to pay for the recreation center evaluation, and results were sent to the federal council in Washington D.C. He said it looks promising that the building will receive the gold certification trophy soon.
“We’re pretty confident we’ll get it,” Smith said. “We’re really proud of that and I think the students will be proud too.”