2 more buildings on Chatham’s Eden Hall campus get coveted energy efficiency rating

Chatham University isn’t just dedicated to teaching sustainability and environmental protection at its satellite campus in Richland.

It’s trying to live by its own creed.

The university’s Eden Hall Campus, which is home to the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment, has received a Platinum LEED certification from the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council for two additional buildings, the Esther Barazzone Center and Orchard Hall.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Platinum is the highest rating for environmental and energy efficiency given by the Green Building Council.

The new certifications bring the total to four LEED Platinum certified buildings on the campus along Ridge Road.

The Field Labs, the Anne Mallinson ‘61 Café and related site development were designated LEED Platinum in 2018.

“The transformative power of these Platinum LEED-certified buildings goes beyond their important sustainability benefits,” said Lou Leonard, dean of the Falk School & Eden Hall Campus. “These structures, and the learning and innovation that happen within them, demonstrate that a better future is possible. Indeed that future lives today at Eden Hall.”

Chatham is working with Mithun, a West Coast design firm to achieve its LEED ratings.

Dave Goldberg, a partner with the company, credits Chatham officials for having a clear vision of what they want for the campus.

“The Chatham leadership team and board provided unparalleled vision to create this deep green living learning environment,” he said. “While the historic farm produced food and crops, this groundbreaking era at Eden Hall will sow generations of environmental leaders well into the future.”

The level of certification a building receives is based on a score assessed in four key areas: energy, water, materials and site ecology.

Here are the features that drew high scores in each of the categories:

Energy

• A geothermal energy loop to provide energy to all buildings.

• Radiant heating and cooling connected to ground source heat pumps to provide consistent temperatures year-round.

• A system that cools solar panels to increase their efficiency and warms water before it enters the water heaters.

• An all-electric kitchen in the Esther Barazzone Center fitted with a heat recovery system. Food service also is designed to minimize the use of refrigeration.

• The campus operates as a “microgrid” using a mix of solar, geothermal and microturbines to produce most of the power used.

Water

• An on-site wastewater treatment that employs a plant-based biological system for three of the four buildings.

• Rainwater is collected and treated for use drinking, cooking and washing. Wastewater is treated and used for irrigation and toilets.

• Unused water is filtered through an underground system and slowly released into the surrounding soil.

• A 41% reduction in water consumption with the use of low-flow plumbing fixtures.

Materials

• A high percentage of lumber used for building construction that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures that it comes from responsibly managed forests.

• 94% of campus construction waste diverted from landfills.

Site ecology

• Installation of stream buffers, wildlife habitat crossings and landscape buffers along the campus perimeter.

• Campus design includes more than 1,000 new trees, 4,000 new shrubs and a complex meadow system instead of turf grass.

• 40% of the campus’ land is protected by a permanent conservation easement.

“The uniquely integrated water, energy, food, habitat, learning and living systems at Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus are an exemplary model for universities and campus development nationally,” said Debra Guenther, a landscape architect and partner at Mithun.