When the University holds a ceremonial groundbreaking on April 28 for the Business Instructional Facility on the corner of Sixth Street and Gregory Drive, it will signify more than just another building on campus; it will be the beginning of a greener building philosophy.

The facility will be the first “green building” at the University, which means it will incorporate several features in its design to make it environmentally friendly and energy efficient and to develop it for long-term sustainability. Construction is expected to be completed by the fall semester of 2008.

“The idea of green buildings is to construct buildings that have a much lighter impact on the environment and at the same time are much better places to be and work,” said Donald Fournier, research specialist in sustainable planning and design at the University.

Fournier is a member of the central Illinois chapter of the United States Green Building Council as the program chair and was initially involved in an advisory capacity with the facility. He said green buildings take into account holistically every part of the building, right down to the carpeting and paint on the walls – in addition to better-known design aspects, such as energy efficiency.

From the beginning, Rafael Pelli, the principal in charge for Pelli Clark Pelli, the architectural firm that designed the project, brought the idea of a sustainable design to the University during the feasibility study three years ago.

“Because sustainable design was carefully incorporated from the beginning, many of the most important ‘green’ features will be unnoticeable to most people,” said Craig Copeland, senior associate and design team leader for Pelli Clarke Pelli.

The facility is expected to consume as much as 75 percent less energy than the average older campus buildings and as much as 40 percent less than a new facility designed to the University’s current standards.

“We looked to do what is called integrated design,” said Jean Ascoli, capital planning architect for facilities and services at the University. “What that means is instead of taking a building and saying ‘I’m going to put green architecture components on it,’ you think of the whole building and try to think every step of the way ‘How can I make this a more sustainable building?'”

Copeland said a collaborative and integrated process was particularly effective in solving problems to fit the specific needs of the facility. He said one example of these processes in action, was the design of the central commons – the three-story atrium space in the heart of the building

“On one hand, we wanted the commons to be a very open and inviting place, infused with natural light,” Copeland said. “But, on the other hand, creating so much glass area was counter to making a thermally efficient envelope.”

The design transformation ended with the implementation of a 30-foot overhang on the south fa‡ade over the commons area to minimize heat during the summer months, which would keep the area fully shaded. Designers added perimeter heating to the glass area and a ventilation system called displacement air, which is helpful in large volume spaces.

Other features on the facility will include occupancy sensors and carbon dioxide sensors for heating, ventilation and air conditioning control. Also, motion, infrared and light sensors will be installed to control lighting systems in the building’s rooms.

The building’s exterior will have visible green elements. The University received funding from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to install photovoltaic solar cells to assist in providing the building with electricity.

“We’re going to end up generating about five to seven percent of the electrical needs of the building with the photovoltaic array that will be on the roof of the auditorium,” said George Freeman, director of facilities and research planning for the College of Business.

Also on selected portions of the facility, plants will cover the building roof. The plants will be indigenous and require no ongoing irrigation. This will allow the plants to change from green to brown during the drier and colder off-seasons.

“People who see the building will see this seasonal change with the building,” Copeland said. “This will be a different look that hopefully will help students and faculty be more aware of the building and the University’s sustainable design mission.”