Oakland Hall has officially won the gold for the greenest dorm on the campus.
Earlier this month, Oakland Hall became the first university dorm to be certified with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating — the second-highest LEED standard a green building can receive. Constructed using recyclable materials and featuring state-of-the-art sustainable technology, the building had first received the LEED silver rating when it made its debut this past fall.
“We just think it’s really great that it’s been able to happen,” Resident Life Assistant Director Donna Metz said. “I know that everyone that worked on the building worked really hard to make it happen and did an incredible job.”
And while Oakland Hall is only the second university-owned building to be certified LEED gold — Knight Hall, the home of the journalism college, was the first — more green construction is slated for the coming years as outlined in the Facilities Master Plan, a framework for future development and landscaping for the university. Capital Projects Director Bill Olen noted Oakland Hall was the first new dorm constructed in 25 years, and the designers of all future constructed university buildings will strive to obtain a LEED silver rating.
Oakland Hall boasts an innovative green design, with water-conserving toilets and shower heads and energy efficient lighting installed throughout the building. Solar reflective surfaces were installed on the roof to lower air conditioning use.
Rameez Munawar, president of this university’s chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council — the nonprofit organization that created the LEED certification — said while Oakland Hall’s construction is a step in the right direction toward a greener campus, officials should speed up the process.
“I think that just overall there are so many benefits to designing sustainably that it seems a no-brainer at this point,” Munawar said. “I kind of wish that it was moving at a faster rate.”
While several Oakland Hall residents said they were happy to learn about the LEED gold rating, some said they are not always aware they live in such a green building.
“Personally I can’t really tell the fact that it’s sustainable,” sophomore aerospace engineering major Younese Mekonnen said, but added, “For someone that’s very environmentally aware, I could see Oakland being the perfect dorm.”
And other students said they hoped sustainability would remain a priority for university officials.
“We’re supposed to be known as one of the most sustainable campuses, so that’s a really big step for us to get our buildings as sustainable as our actions,” junior environmental engineering major Emily Winafeld said. “That’s a great accomplishment.”
And looking toward the future construction of Prince Frederick Hall — which is slated to open in fall 2014 — Metz said officials will strive to replicate Oakland Hall’s sustainable design.
“We’ll go for gold there too,” she said.
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