Greenbuilding               see RAMC green buildings

The built environment has a profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health and productivity.

In the United States, building construction and operation account for:

• 36% of total energy use and 65% of electricity consumption

• 30% of greenhouse gas emissions

• 30% of raw materials use

• 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually)

• 12% of potable water consumption   (2005, US Green Building Council, usgbc.org)

 

Greenbuilding is the practice of:

• increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and harvest energy, water, and materials, and

• reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal - the complete building life cycle.

Greenbuilding priorities

 

Green building is an essential component of the related concept of sustainable design, the art of designing physical objects to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.

The ongoing renovations of the Harmony House at the Macoskey Center and the construction of several new buildings were carried out using principles of greenbuilding and sustainable design.

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The Harmony House

The Harmony House at the Macoskey Center is a renovated 1920's farmhouse.  Renovations over the last two decades have endeavored to make the house more resource efficient, as well as a more effective working and living space.  The house serves a variety of functions, including offices, programming/classroom space, resident unit and storage.  The main floor houses the offices and working space of the director, graduate assistants and student workers.  A gathering area for programs and the kitchen are also on the main floor.  The basement serves as a maintenance and storage area, while the top floor serves as housing for two graduate students.

The house retains the original hardwood framing, solid hardwood flooring and sandstone foundation.

The renovations used low/no-toxicity paints and finishes to improve the indoor air quality of the house.

The Harmony House was renovated utilizing passive solar design principles, which use the natural movement of heat and air to maintain comfortable temperatures, operating with little or no mechanical assistance.  The windows face predominantly south to take the greatest advantage of daylight for lighting and passive heating.  High thermal mass absorbs the passive solar heat and aids in maintaining the indoor temperature as it slowly releases heat throughout the day. 

The sunspace on the south side of the house is especially important in the passive solar design  Materials such as stone, masonry, and recycled glass floor tiles provide thermal mass, which helps to moderate indoor temperatures.  The sunspace also provides generous daylight into the house, reducing the need for electric lighting.  This has enabled the space to be used as a greenhouse.

New windows in the renovation are low-emissivity (low-e) windows.  These windows have thin, transparent coatings that permit visible light to pass through, but effectively reflect infrared heat radiation back into the room. This reduces heat loss through the windows in the winter.  Appropriately sized roof overhangs also aid in passive solar heating by allowing the lower-angled rays of the winter sun to enter the house, while deflecting the higher-angled rays of the summer sun.

Wastewater from the sinks, shower, dishwasher and clothes washer of the house is treated using the constructed wetland outside the house.  This treatment system is chemical-free and is powered only by the force of gravity.

Water enters a septic tank, which allows some organic material to settle out.  The water then flows into a two-basin wetland construction.  The first basin is impermeable and planted with native wetland plant species.  The plants absorb some of the compounds from the water, while microorganisms in the basin break down compounds into useable elements.  The second, permeable basin is also planted with a variety of wetland plants, and acts as the third and final treatment of the wastewater.  The whole system is monitored for water levels and sediment buildup, and the pipes connecting each part of the system can be adjusted to ensure proper water flow.

The house also utilizes a composting toilet and a masonry stove for heating.

 

Other Macoskey Center buildings

Barn • Springhouse • Field Equipment Shed • Greenhouse • Chicken House

The barn began as the thesis work of a graduate student in the MS3 program and was completed in 1996. 

• Building materials were obtained locally:  local hardwoods (Eastern Hemlock and Red Oak), recycled roofing slate, strawbales, clay

• Straw-clay south wall absorbs, stores and radiates heat, like the masonry stove

• Strawbale walls are sound resistant, sturdy and long-lasting, and are compostable at the end of their life

• Earth stucco seals the outside walls at the ground level.

• Operable clerestory windows are used for ventilation and illumination, and allow for solar warming.

• A rainwater catchment system on the eastern side of the building.  An elevated platform supports the weight of the tank, thereby storing the water at a useable head pressure.

• Recycled roof slates protect the contents of the building, and the word 'Harmony' is designed into the north side. 

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The current springhouse sits on the historic site of the original farm springhouse.

• The site utilizes the original springhouse sandstone foundation

• Construction was completed from recycled materials, including recycled concrete block for the walls, reused lumber for roof rafters, and broken tiles and pots for the logo mural

• Living roof system protects the structure by absorbing water and sunlight, and by providing insulation and protection from thermal shock

• Local lumber from downed trees on campus and from the power company and stone materials from on site were used

• The new springhouse provide protection of the existing ground-source spring and space for storage of garden tools and equipment

• It demonstrates green building techniques and provided hands-on construction experience for SRU students

historic springhouse site and original foundation

New Springhouse     logo mural

 

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The field equipment shed

 

 

 

 

 

• Orientation was chosen so the building would buffer prevailing winds

• The timbers and siding used in construction are Forest Stewardship Council Certified Lumber.  This means that the wood came from a timber company that practices responsible forestry, according to the FSC's high standards.  Responsible forest management is one of the ways we can reduce the human impact on resource availability.

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The Greenhouse

• This permanent building replaces the portable hoop house previously used at the Center, and construction was completed Fall 2006
   

• The structure features a shallow frost protected foundation system and ICF (insulated concrete formwork) stem wall.
   

• Reclaimed swamp cypress frame anchors the dual wall polycarbonate glazing panels.
   

• The glazing panels, along with the thermal mass of the structure, allow the greenhouse to absorb and retain heat from the sun.
  

• Electricity for lighting, irrigation and ventilation is provided by off-grid photovoltaic energy system, located to the east of the structure (left)
   

• Inside, raised beds and tables allow year-round growing.

 

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The chicken house

• The chicken house was designed and constructed as a community workshop project in the Fall of 2006

• The structure houses egg layers when the weather makes it impractical to have chickens in pasture.

• The building was constructed entirely from reclaimed and recycled materials from the Slippery Rock area.

• Strawbale walls have high insulation capacity and a low embodied energy.  Straw, which can be considered a waste product, is a non-toxic, local, and renewable material

• Walls are finished with clay straw plaster.

• The foundation is built of otherwise unusable old tires with compacted gravel fill.

• The doors and gables are made from reclaimed hardwood.