Ecological Design and Campus Planning

Liz Davey and Betsy Franke

February 2000

Attending a University in Louisiana

University of the Automobile

Ecological Design

•Solutions grow from place

•Eco. accounting informs design

•Design with nature

•Everyone is a designer

Ecological Design • Spring 99H. Jini Koh (Newcomb ’01)Peter J. O'Farrell (Tulane ’00)J. Stuart Carlton (Tulane ’01)Danielle M. McCarthy (Architecture ’00)Seth L. Willey (Tulane ’00 and SPHTM ’01)Naomi Worth (Newcomb ’02)William H. Schleizer (Tulane ’00)Brian D. Fink (Tulane ’99)Jessica L. Lunsford (Newcomb ’99 and SPHTM ’00)Dan Y. Au (Tulane ’01) Rachel Moss (Newcomb ‘00)Aaron S. Allen (Tulane ’99)Dr. Charles C. Reith

Enviro Fact

Average Swede’s annual CO2 production:1.5 tons and falling

Average American’s annual C02 production:5 tons and rising

Improving environmental quality

improves the quality of life.

Campus Landscaping

• Distinctive image

• Historical

• Educational

• Environmental

Landscaping with Louisiana species

Protecting Lake Pontchartrain

• Preserve greenspace

• Choose permeable landscaping and materials wherever possible

• Natural or “living” filtration and treatment systems for runoff from parking and roadways

Circulation• Reduce the presence of

cars on campus

• Provide safe pedestrian

pathways

• Improve circulation

for bicycles

and electric carts

Reduce car trips to campus

• Cars disrupt quality of quads and social contact on campus

• Building and maintaining parking is expensive

• Driving a major source of global warming gases, common and toxic air and water pollution

Creating more transportation choices

• Provide adequate bicycle racks

• Clear signage and schedule information for

campus transit and RTA

• Ride-share incentives and assistance

• Subsidized or free RTA passes

Cornell Transportation Demand Management

• Cornell has 9,000 faculty and staff

• 37% participate in ride share or bus pass

programs

• In program’s first year, demand for parking

permits dropped by 2,500

• Huge financial and environmental savings

Building Construction and Renovation

Florida Solar Energy Center University of Central Florida

Bicentennial Hall Middlebury College

AJ Lewis Center for Environmental Studies Oberlin College

Use ecological design and the planning process to achieve an indoor environment that is as comfortable and distinctive as Tulane’s outdoor environment

Lit by the sun

Connected to the outdoor environment

• Distinctively New Orleans in cooling and ventilation

• Operable windows, high ceilings, ceiling fans• Shaded and/or covered exterior spaces• Hallways and staircases on building exterior

Clever investments in efficiency

• Adopt resource efficient systems and appliances with a payback period of less than 5 years

• High efficiency motors, appliances, lighting, water fixtures

• Smart use of motion and daylight sensors• Scale hvac to complement greater

efficiency

Anticipate better environmental practices

• Provide space for expanded recycling in copyrooms, dining areas, loading docks and entryways

• Design to accommodate future energy retrofits (e.g. wiring and roof for solar)

Protect local environmental quality

• Maximize indoor air quality

• Plan and conduct construction to have minimum environmental impact (protect trees, minimize soil and sediment runoff)

Thoughtful of where materials come from, where they will go

• Developing a palette of materials that are sustainably produced and recyclable

•“No Ugliness Anywhere”

Strive for high ratings

• U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Building “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) Rating System

• EPA/DOE Energy Star Program

Demand exemplary environmental performance

from designers and contractors

• Include ecological design in selection criteria

• Require that contractors follow basic environmental practices: recycle, protect trees, minimize soil disturbance and runoff.

Sample selection criteria

The firm should demonstrate experience with energy efficiency, and experience with design, materials and systems that minimize the environmental impacts of a building’s design, construction and use.

Hard-wire student participation

• Involve students as researchers and decision makers

• Elected or appointed student representatives on all committees

• Dedicated, regularly listed courses• Student positions: paid, internship,

postgraduate

Ecological Design • Spring 99H. Jini Koh (Newcomb ’01)Peter J. O'Farrell (Tulane ’00)J. Stuart Carlton (Tulane ’01)Danielle M. McCarthy (Architecture ’00)Seth L. Willey (Tulane ’00 and SPHTM ’01)Naomi Worth (Newcomb ’02)William H. Schleizer (Tulane ’00)Brian D. Fink (Tulane ’99)Jessica L. Lunsford (Newcomb ’99 and SPHTM ’00)Dan Y. Au (Tulane ’01) Rachel Moss (Newcomb ‘00)Aaron S. Allen (Tulane ’99)Dr. Charles C. Reith

www.tulane.edu/~greenclb/enst481