Collegiate Times

The Blacksburg Motor Company's playfully decorated rainwater collection system helps reduce run-off by using rain for other purposes, such as watering a garden.

The Blacksburg Motor Company building also faced complications because of the historic nature of the building. The project was required by town regulations to retain 75 percent of the original features. Many components of the building that would not have been up to LEED standards were re-used in other locations. Large, un-insulated windows were removed from their original locations and used as decorative fixtures.

Another important component of achieving LEED certification is recycling materials used during construction.

“At least 98 percent of things removed (during construction) that weren’t contaminated were recycled,” Duncan said.

Rizy said that the Henderson Hall project was “able to recycle about 79 percent of the things we took out.”

Cochrane said having more LEED-certified buildings would help Tech be recognized as a “leader in campus sustainability” according to the first point in the resolution.

“Universities are a logical place to model change,” he said.

However, having the certified label on a building also gives political and economic benefits.

Duncan said “some reasons for having LEED-certified buildings are definitely political.”

The first LEED-certified building in Blacksburg now houses the Blacksburg Town Council and other important town functions, and Cochrane said that Tech chose to write the 14-point Climate Action Commitment Resolution as an alternative to signing President Barack Obama’s climate plan in the spring.

“It’s not one size fits all,” Cochrane said.

Cochrane also spoke to the importance of including the town in Tech’s sustainability plans.

“If we’re going to be successful, if the town’s going to be successful, our plans have to dovetail,” he said.

Cochrane also said the Theatre 101 building was “always intended” to be the first LEED-certified building belonging to Tech. The fact that it is located on College Avenue, at the edge of the campus and downtown Blacksburg, “sent a big signal to the town.”

Despite the potential for using LEED certification as a measure of political success, an increase in LEED-certified buildings in the area will also be beneficial to the environment and the buildings’ occupants.

Many of the construction materials and practices involved in the making of LEED-certified buildings are more environmentally friendly than previously used materials. Also, one component of LEED buildings is the protection of the people who use the building.

In the Blacksburg Motor Company building, the chemicals that could be harmful to workers are enclosed in a separate room. There, the copier, printer and other machines cannot leak harmful chemicals into the building’s air.

In the Theatre 101 building, an indoor air quality monitor was installed. Along with a carbon monoxide detector, these tools will work together to ensure that the people using the building will not experience adverse effects from chemicals that may be embedded in their surroundings.

Cochrane concurred that LEED-certified buildings can bring great benefits to their occupants.

“It’s proven that people will do better if they’re in a better building,” he said.

It should also be considered inevitable that more and more buildings in Blacksburg, at Tech and elsewhere, will seek LEED certification in the future.

Cochrane said that 12 of the 27 new buildings that are currently either in the design or construction stage have already applied for registration with the U.S. Green Building Council.

Before ever beginning the construction process, a building’s design must be submitted to the USGBC. If it is not, the building cannot be considered for LEED certification at a later date, unless it is drastically renovated. Renovations involving additions of over 5,000 square feet are considered large enough to apply for certification.

This means that some projects currently under construction cannot be considered for LEED certification because they were started before Tech’s June 1, 2009 adoption of the Climate Action Commitment Resolution as university policy.

However, Cochrane said, even though recently-completed buildings such as New Hall West cannot be LEED certified because their design wasn’t submitted to the USGBC at conception, they have incorporated features used in many LEED-certified buildings.

Duncan agreed that more LEED-certified buildings would pop up in the future.

“More things will become required versus a good thing to do,” she said.

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