Aquinas campus building renovation, expansion earns LEED certification

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

The Grace Hauenstein Library on the campus of Grand Rapids' Aquinas College has earned Silver LEED certification — a level higher than anticipated. The 67,000-square-foot, three-story library occupies the renovated Jarecki Center for Advanced Learning and includes a 26,000-square-foot addition.

“The concept was to design it similar in feeling to a tree house,” says Jeff Remtema of Progressive AE. Progressive AE built the Jarecki Center in 1998, then renovated and expanded it for the library in 2007.

“The building has sloping glass walls on the south and east sides that come right up to the mature trees around the site. The college wanted the reading and study experience to be as relaxing as possible and for students to feel like they’re part of the tree canopy.”

The renovation reused 90 percent of the original building, including the interior walls, which earned the project LEED points. The new building, including the expansion, logged a 15 percent savings in energy costs compared to the original, smaller facility. The savings are due to the new energy efficient mechanical systems, Energy Star rated computers and televisions and the use of sunlight to help heat the interior spaces.

Other sustainable factors include:

• No increase of storm water runoff into the nearby creek and pond due to a reduction of exterior hardscape and the creation of more permeable soil.
• All existing trees were retained.
• 12 percent of new materials were from recycled content.
• 82 percent of construction waste was recycled.
• 22 percent of the construction materials came from within a 500- mile radius of Grand Rapids.
• The library stacks were recycled from another library.

Source: Jeff Remtema, Progressive AE

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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].