by Russ Plummer Issue: Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Added: 4/18/2006 10:42:35 PM
 

Speakers at a symposium April 11 discussed UW-Oshkosh’s plan to think green before spending green.

Mark Hanson, director of sustainable services at Hoffman LLC, and Lonnie Lindholm, executive director of Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, both presented how using “green” standards on the new $48 million academic building would make the facility nature friendly and easily sustainable.

The building would be used to house the College of Business Administration and several College of Letters and Science departments. “Green” standards would involve planning ahead in order to increase efficiency on the use of water, energy and materials, as well as increasing human health through better design, construction, operation and maintenance.

As of April 11, Oshkosh had not entered an agreement with any construction company. No official decisions have been made and any pictures of what the building may look like are purely speculative.

There is currently a “New North” initiative for 18 counties in Wisconsin, including Winnebago County. Sustainable building would reportedly help protect the environment with increasing economic growth.

In adherence to the new initiative, all Oshkosh business majors will have to take a course in environmental management. The course will help prepare students for dealing with environmental issues that will arise in their futures in business.

Lindholm used her time to explain why people should build “green” and explained standards set by the Leadership in Energy Environmental Design.

Lindholm said an estimated $29-168 billion is lost through irrational productivity per year and students’ performance is better in day-lit schools. Lindholm said “building green” would reduce absenteeism and turnover while helping maintain healthy and happy employees.

Five to 10 percent of a building’s total lifecycle cost is owning and operating the building and 90 percent is maintenance, Lindholm said. She stressed by “building green” and meeting LEED standards, the cost accumulated over time would be lower.

LEED is an environmentally friendly checklist about different criteria a building can meet. As a building incorporates items from the list, available online, points are earned. The most prestigious LEED ranking is platinum.

Although it is not fully decided yet, Lindholm feels confident that Oshkosh will attempt to reach the platinum level with the new academic building.

“Most platinum buildings have been nature centers,” Lindholm said. “It is great to see an everyday building being built platinum.”

Lindholm delivered her knowledge on LEED, but Hanson presented his knowledge on “building green.”

Hoffman has done 12 LEED projects. Hanson showed the audience examples of past work deemed sustainable.

“The definition of sustainable is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” Hanson said.

Hanson commended Oshkosh for being a leader in acting out sustainable and environmental concerns. He thinks Oshkosh will be buying more wind power in the future.

Hanson said “building green” does not cost more than the average building, but the initial planning may take longer. The estimated cost per square foot for the new academic building is $159 to $162.

“There is a myth that sustainable building costs more,” Hanson said. “It is green, it could cost more, but it doesn’t have to cost more.”

Hanson said Oshkosh currently has 12 points on LEED and the university will have to form a team of architects, engineers and construction workers to form the best plan possible. When Oshkosh begins forming more concrete decisions, points can be earned, heading towards the possibility of being deemed a platinum building.

“People and politics are the most difficult to deal with in construction,” Hanson said

Although many decisions must be made before the scheduled construction in 2007-2009, people like the COBA Dean E. Alan Hartman see the positives of forming a relationship between business and Northeast Wisconsin’s natural environment.

“This synergy is particularly applicable to this region, which has an abundance of natural beauty and intense business activity,” Hartman said.