{"62861":{"#nid":"62861","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Department of Housing Works for LEED Certification","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech residence halls are becoming more eco-friendly with LEED certification renovations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELEED, which stands for \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.usgbc.org\/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1988\u0022\u003ELeadership in Energy and Environmental Design\u003C\/a\u003E, certifies only buildings that meet with a strict standard of environmentally-conscious construction and maintenance. Certified\u0026nbsp;buildings must meet requirements for \u0022sustainable design, construction, and operation.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, it must meet standards in \u0022sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are three levels of certification: Bronze, Silver, Gold. and Platinum Currently, Georgia Tech has four certified buildings, including the College of Management Building, Klaus Computing Building, Old Civil Engineering Building, and the Women\u0027s Softball Complex.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEight more have been registered, with 16 more built to code (though not yet certified).\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.housing.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EDepartment of Housing\u003C\/a\u003E has taken the opportunity to update and retrofit many of the residences on campus according to LEED guidelines. The recent renovations in Fitten, Freeman, and Montag are all being submitted for certification.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter a building is submitted for consideration for the certification, it must undergo a year-long \u0022performance period.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Everything we\u0027re building from now on will be designed to the Gold Standard,\u0022 said Steve Zwirz, Project Coordinator II for Housing, who hopes to have Fitten, Freeman, and Montag certified by August of 2011.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe North Avenue Apartments are also being renovated to meet the requirements.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELEED has different certifications for new versus existing buildings; therefore, the North Avenue complex is being retrofitted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The apartments needed work,\u0022 said Zwirz. \u0022Among necessary upgrades, we had to replace all toilets and showers.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERetrofitting the buildings is costly, but \u0022more efficient and cost effective.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;The new fixtures help conserve a large amount of water, reducing water consumption by almost 20 percent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOriginally, the construction crew focused on renovations; however, problems in the design were also discovered.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We had to repair the building,\u0022 said Zwirz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven the air was a challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Air quality is always an issue here in Atlanta,\u0022 Zwirz added, \u0022and especially North Avenue due to its location to the interstate and already excessive vehicle exhausts.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut despite the difficulty, the Housing team did a great job meeting the challenges. They even installed new environmentally-friendly programs like motion-detector lighting in the hallways and study rooms and the CalSense irrigation system, which can sense when rain makes watering by sprinkler unnecessary.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re trying different projects in different buildings. We\u0027re trying to see what works,\u0022 said Zwirz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe North Avenue complex will hopefully be certified for repair and design and operationally too.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHousing is also educating its building occupants, both students and employees, to follow operational LEED certification standards like recycling and water conservation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022LEED is an investment in our future,\u201d Zwirz said.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech residence halls are becoming more eco-friendly with LEED certification renovations.\u0026nbsp;LEED, which stands for\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.usgbc.org\/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1988\u0022\u003ELeadership in Energy and Environmental Design\u003C\/a\u003E, certifies only buildings that meet with a strict standard of environmentally-conscious construction and maintenance. Certified\u0026nbsp;buildings must meet requirements for \u0022sustainable design, construction, and operation.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Residence halls are becoming more eco-friendly with renovations"}],"uid":"15436","created_gmt":"2010-11-19 12:36:57","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:50","author":"Automator","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-11-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-11-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"62862":{"id":"62862","type":"image","title":"Freeman Residence Hall","body":null,"created":"1449176394","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:59:54","changed":"1475894549","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:29","alt":"Freeman Residence Hall","file":{"fid":"191592","name":"0322138-P1-96.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/0322138-P1-96_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/0322138-P1-96_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1386376,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/0322138-P1-96_0.jpg?itok=ss0SSpCJ"}}},"media_ids":["62862"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.housing.gatech.edu\/facilities\/leedingtheway_naaLEED.cfm","title":"LEEDing the Way (video)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1316","name":"Green Buzz"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"790","name":"Housing"},{"id":"2067","name":"LEED"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}